Yes Mom, Making Art is a Real Job.

Background

My name is Daniel Kim, I’m a first generation Korean-American with a huge passion for anything unordinary, abstract, and sometimes weird, but being weird is cool! At the time of writing this, I’m a senior ready to graduate, soon to have a Bachelor Degree of Arts in Advertising with an Art Direction concentration. Graduating in May is both exciting and scary for a creative, because I don’t want to end up like Squidward eating his own paintings. This was my first internship which not only helped me gain other opportunities and connections, but also improve my skills overall as a creative.

My Role and Experience

I was a digital media/graphic design intern at Mezz Entertainment, a small music label and entertainment provider located in New York. This position was fully remote which was ideal for me, allowing manageable work and flexible scheduling.

In this role, I primarily was responsible for creating digital assets for artists, social media posts, banners, videos, and more. Mezz was split into four different departments: A&R, social media, digital, and artist management/promotions.

The digital team was small, but gave a comfortable environment of feeling like family. We worked closely with the social media team, as both teams frequently collaborated in brainstorming ideas or concepts. We had two weekly meetings over Zoom: a huge company meeting of all departments on Mondays, and the digital team met on Fridays.

My favorite part about being an intern at Mezz is that your co-workers and fellow interns help each other improve. I was able to do hands-on work with real clients and artists, instead of being an intern who grabs coffee for the boss. Being a creative means your work can be flexible wherever you apply, ranging from culinary, healthcare, music, or other areas. Specifically in my case, the music industry allowed me to make connections and work on startup projects which I can proudly say I was a part of helping create. I met the coolest guy named Reggie, who not only interviewed Cardi B, Travis Scott, Doechii, and more before they were famous, but also had stories which gave me incredible insight in the music industry. I even got to work on his radio show called Taste Radio (I made it mom!).

Process

Applying to Mezz Entertainment, I was required to send my resume and portfolio, which is typical for any creative related internship. After going through couple preliminary questions and an interview, I was chosen to be on their digital team. Expect to also talk about your projects – you should know them like they’re your kids, because recruiters love to see your thought process. It sounds easier said than done, but it was competitive to get as there were over 400 applicants and I applied to around 50-100 internships…

Advice for getting Internships

If graphic design, website creation, editing, photography, or any kind of creative related internship position is what you are looking for, here are some quick tips that personally helped me land my first internship with ZERO experience prior to this position (yes, it was hard, but very possible).

• Personalized portfolio – Make it fun
  • Show more than one niche! I included passion projects and sketches which enhanced the personality of my portfolio.
  • A small yet effective part is make your portfolio have a moving component (moving banner, floating objects, clickable/interactable things its interesting to look at and fun).
• No prior experience for your resume? No problem!
  • List class projects, outside volunteer work/campaigns, pieces you did for clubs, anything to show you can execute ideas. I had no internship experience, I framed my resume to display work I did for my classes and it got me a highly competitive internship.
• The key is to sell yourself, but don’t lie.
  • Be honest in your work and show any accomplishments that can be interesting or intriguing for a recruiter to see you can excuse ideas from scratch to finish.
  • Don’t make up campaigns you didn’t do if you have no previous experience, which is why I encourage being open to doing freelance work or personal passion projects.
  • If you can show the quality is there, getting any internship will come easier, even with no experience.

What’s next?

I wrap up this internship after I graduate in May, and I hope this blog post can give anyone reading this helpful insight into your future career goals and ambitions. Being creative is not easy, and taking on that passion comes with lots of highs and lows, but doing what you love matters the most. My biggest hope is that the key takeaway you can gain from reading this is to not give up, and art can be a real job! Don’t forget to always keep going, creating, sharing, laughing, and inspiring.