Internship Insights from a Gen X Girl

Digging through old boxes of stuff, I found a photo — Polaroid of course — from my college internship. It was the summer of 1990 at WLS-TV (ABC) Chicago, in the Creative Services Department. “The Wonder Years” was a hit show, the actual/hard copy TV Guide was a critical resource, and people were painstakingly setting timers on their VCRs to record their favorite shows. We could get a coffee and donut at the Dunkin’ across the street from the station for less than two dollars. So much has changed.

Yet, as many of today’s college kids are starting their summer internships, I’m realizing some things haven’t changed. In real life experiences (“IRL” as the kids call it) still teach lessons that can guide us throughout our careers. Not everything can happen online, no matter how well-lit, well-documented, or well-connected people are on social media, Zoom and/or Teams.

Like technology, my midlife outlook on the work world has expanded over the past decades. (Could us Gen X kids have ever even imagined the ease of applying for internships online? Working on a laptop from a coffee place or home?) But while a lot has changed, some important things never have. Here are five things I learned from that internship — observations, lessons and beliefs — that stand the test of time.

1. You can be powerless, but still be polished. Yes, interns are the lowest on the totem pole. But looking put together and making sure all the work you do is high quality and error-free never goes out of style. People notice.

2. Face your fear before you’re found out. My biggest challenge that first week as an intern? Facing something called a fax machine. The PR Director asked me fax something and pointed me to a room with this foreign-looking contraption. I stood frozen, scared to touch any buttons, freaking out. I was all alone. I played around with it for around a half hour. I finally figured out how to dial “out”, and never knew for sure which side of the paper should go up, so sent it both ways. Mission accomplished. (I think. Not sure I knew to go back and check for a “confirmation”/success receipt.)

3. Push yourself out of your comfort zone. I was (and still am) quite the introvert. But when I was assigned a real task — to write a press release about the “Say No to Drugs” parade — I forced myself to boldly approach and interview the producer, so I could get a good quote.

4. Be flexible when the scope of your role changes. When they didn’t have enough news anchors show up for the above parade, guess who they wanted to jump up and ride through Chicago on the station’s float? Bodies — even interns. So, I hopped on, smiled and waved.

5. Fake it until you make it. At the star-studded ABC television fall presentation party, we were given celebrities to escort. I was assigned a star actress from a hit show I’d never watched — Twin Peaks. I think I was like the only person who didn’t watch it. Once I got her name and had a half hour to get ready — remember there was NO GOOGLE OR CELL PHONE for quick research then — I asked everyone around me about her show’s character and storyline. By the time I walked her out, I knew just enough to talk to her like a real viewer and fan.

My hope for Gen Z interns this summer? That all the big and little learnings — what they take with them when the internships end — may serve their future selves well. They might be surprised what sticks, but hopefully they’ll be prepared. 😊

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