How to Get an Internship in 10 days

By the FWV Internship Committee

Have you ever wondered exactly what it takes to secure the internship of your dreams? Look no further: The French/​West/​Vaughan (FWV) team has you covered. Here are the top four things you need to know when applying for an internship. 

1. Intentionally highlight applicable skills 

When you’re in college, it’s easy to think more is better. The more experience you have, the more you should flaunt it. We would kindly disagree. At FWV, we’re not always looking for more – rather, do you have the skills we’re looking for? 

Maybe you’ve worked in Canva before and feel super confident about your skills. And that’s awesome – don’t get us wrong – but if you’re applying for a PR internship, Canva is taking up a spot on your resume where something more tailored could live. Purposefully think through each item on your resume, and consider whether it’s applicable to the job for which you’re applying. 

2. Talk about skills that live outside of your resume 

When we look to partner with interns, we not only want you to have the skills needed to succeed at FWV, but we also want to see if you’re likely to build community amongst other interns and take initiative within our agency team. We want to see people reach out, not sit back. 

It may have nothing to do with your creative skillset, but maybe one time in a class project you led a team of six classmates to make a brand guide. We want to know about that, because it gives us insight into your leadership skills. Or maybe you took the initiative to participate in weekly office hours for a class in which you were having difficulty. While it might feel outlandish to acknowledge in an interview, it shows us that you take initiative to learn and get better. Think outside the box, and tell us more about who you are, not always what you can do.

3. Attitude is everything 

We stand by Ted Lasso’s model of ​“Believe” – because in an interview, and especially on the job, attitude is everything. 

We know what it’s like to interview and feel like you have to have all the right answers. But we don’t just use interviews to see if you know every AP style rule (although it’s definitely a plus!); rather, we see them as an opportunity to learn more about who you are. Have questions ready, do your background research, and be energetic – we notice it and, most of the time, someone having a professional and positive attitude during an interview could be the make or break if we’re deciding between two candidates. 

We want people to work for FWV who want to work at FWV. Take the time beforehand to think through your personal ​“why,” and bring that answer with you to an interview.

4. Pay attention to detail 

We know you’re likely applying to multiple internships, and while we think that’s great, attention to detail is extremely important. Be sure to check over your resume, cover letter or email for minor details like spelling, grammar and, most importantly, our company name. BTW, there are two ​“a’s” in French West Vaughan. While these are all seemingly small details, minor mistakes tend to stand out in a not-so-great way.

Attention to detail is a top skill that we look for across the board for all of our hires. It’s a critical soft skill that shows our team you’re capable of producing error-free work, or close to it. The agency world is fast paced, so it is imperative to show that you care about details and have the potential to catch your own mistakes and turn in high-quality work. That said, we don’t expect you to know or catch every single mistake, and we’re here to provide feedback along the way. 

We hope these four tips help you understand more about our interview process, what to highlight on your resume, and what we’re looking for at the end of the day. For internships with FWV (PR, creative, paid and social), stay tuned for Part II!