From North Broad to 30 Rock

Hi, my name is Justice Dyer and this spring, I had the opportunity to serve as a social media intern at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. I’ll be honest, it still doesn’t feel totally real!

Other than working directly with the digital team for the world’s longest-running talk show in the United States, there have been some other really cool experiences that I’ve had during my time with The Tonight Show. Everyone always has questions for me when I mention where I’m interning, so I’ll take some time to answer some of those questions now! My internship is hybrid, and I am fortunate enough to be able to come into the offices once a week! No, I haven’t had lunch with Jimmy Fallon yet. Yes, I have seen Questlove in the building before and no, I didn’t say hello (being starstruck is a real thing, people!). 

As a social media intern, I’m able to work directly with the digital team to help create the thousands of pieces of content that the show publishes each year. From Instagram Reels to Instagram Stories, Twitter videos, Facebook posts, and TikTok videos, I’ve been able to work on it all. I’ve also been able to dive more into and get hands-on experience with the back-end of social as well. For example, I’ve learned more about writing copy for social and some of the quirks of different social media platforms (for example, the difference between tagging someone on Instagram versus adding them as a collaborator). I’ve even been able to buff my Adobe Creative Suite skills, and I can confidently say that I have never felt more comfortable with Adobe than I do now. 

For this internship, a background in the realm of social media marketing is definitely helpful. All of The Tonight Show social media channels rely not only on the work of the full-time digital team, but also the interns. As interns, we are not only responsible for aiding the team with their everyday tasks (including the regularly scheduled posts) but also helping to come up with new ideas for future content and creating different social aspects that are used everyday.

Social interns are single-handedly responsible for every Tonight Show GIF that has been created. They help to create thumbnails for different videos and create in-video captions for every TikTok that is posted to the official @fallontonight account. The digital team often says that the show would not run without the work of interns, and this really is true! I’m not saying any of this, though, to scare you or sway you away from this internship! If anything, I think that knowing this is even more of a push to go out for this internship! All of the learning at The Tonight Show is hands-on, and I truly think that it has positively affected not only my knowledge of social media marketing, but also my love for it. Being able to work directly with one of the best digital teams for the longest-running late night talk show is an honor that I do not take lightly and something I am thankful for everyday.

Not only has this internship taught me so much about the world of digital and social media marketing, it has also taught me so much about myself. For example, I’m much more of a morning person than I thought I was and have come to appreciate the 6:22 am train that leaves from Philadelphia to New York on Wednesday mornings! I’ve learned that plans are never set in stone and how to adapt quickly if (more like when) something changes or doesn’t go exactly my way. I’ve learned how to make long-lasting relationships in an office space that I’m only in once a week and have truly buffed my networking skills. Most importantly, I gained a better idea of what I want to do after college. Over the past three months, I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the dichotomy of social media marketing and entertainment, and I hope to continue in this direction post-grad. 

I won’t lie, getting here took a lot of work. As I sit here in 30 Rock now and write this over my weekly iced latte (the coffees here are the BEST, seriously!), I can’t help but be reflective, yet proud, of my journey here. There were a lot of interviews, some late nights, and so many conversations with my mentors and the people I look up to most in life. I also want everyone reading this to know, you can do this, too! You can do whatever you put your mind to, truly (and I know that is so much easier said than done sometimes, but trust me, its true!). My advice to you? Work hard, stay humble, but learn how to brag about yourself when you need to, and be confident in yourself going into every stage of the process, not just the interviews. Going the extra mile in every aspect will be what sets you apart from the hundreds of other applicants, and that work starts with you. Go for what you want, no matter what it is, and when you get there, remember to be yourself, whomever that is you choose to be.