How to Land a Full-Time Job Before Graduation

There are a few tips we hear regarding internships on our way through college. Things like “make connections with people”, or “if you’re bored, always ask for more work.” I’m here to say that they are all true.

When I first started my internship at LevLane, I was new to the advertising world. I had just begun my first semester of classes, and I didn’t know a fraction of what I know now. I was brought in to be a copywriting intern, but there wasn’t much copy work to be done at the time. On days that I found myself with a lack of work, I was constantly asking friendly employees I had met if they needed help with anything. Over the next 8 months, I went through 4 different supervisors within the creative department until I found myself writing blogs for the content team.

I began doing work for whoever was in need of what I was there to do – write. I did projects for people within the creative department, social team, life sciences department; I got to work with a little bit of everything. And in doing all of that, I found myself becoming more familiar with everyone around the office. People knew my name and would stop to have conversations with me. The office began to feel homier than it had when I first got there.

Sometime after that aforementioned 8-month mark, one of those conversations bloomed into something new. After speaking to an SVP briefly about my lack of work on that particular day, she asked about my story a bit more. I shared with her that I had just finished a course in paid search, and she told me that the Director of SEO was in dire need of assistance. She was working solo at the time and needed another set of hands to complete all the work that needed to be done.

There was a need and I was available to help. I was moved under her supervision and she taught me everything I needed to know about SEO. From that February through May, I was able to show her and others in the office that I was both a quick learner and capable of handling work in an agency setting. Long story short, after months of searching for an SEO specialist, she decided to hire me full-time to the position under her. I’m now in charge of half of the accounts in the SEO department and get to work with fantastic people Monday, Wednesday, and Friday while I pursue my degree.

The main point of my whole story is this: don’t just meet people. Make yourself valuable to them in any way you can. Introduce yourself to others around the office so they know your face. If your supervisor has no work for you, ask them if they know somebody who might be in need. Don’t be a nuisance to someone’s workflow, but let people know if you’re available. Especially if your workload becomes inconsistent.

Opportunity knocks for those with the lights on. Be ready, and it’ll be at your door before you know it.