Application Tips

Our internships can be very competitive (especially during spring and summer terms). We receive hundreds of applications and select around 20-40 interns to go through our program during the calendar year. Often we get questions from intern candidates asking for suggestions on how to make their applications stronger. Below are a few helpful tips:

Find out more about what we do.
If you are interested in radio journalism or production, we strongly recommend visiting a Web site called Transom. It’s a great resource for budding radio producers. While we are not asking you to go out and produce a radio documentary after visiting Transom, it should give you a good idea of what can go into creating public radio.

Why do you want to intern with us?
This is one of the first questions we ask potential interns. Why do you want to spend three months of your life working with us as an unpaid intern? Do you want to become a radio journalist? Are you looking for experience working in a not-for-profit institution? Maybe you are looking to enhance your skills in audio production. Maybe you’re a student, and you’re just looking to fulfill your college credit requirement, that’s fine too. A thoughtful and honest answer is what we look for, and we ask this question again during interviews.

The type of experience we look for in interns.
We prefer applicants with some prior educational exposure or volunteer experience in their chosen area. It’s common for summer production interns to have completed an internship with another media outlet before interning with us. We do make exceptions, and applicants are judged on a case by case basis.

Completely fill out the application and essay questions.
The application is important, because it tells us more about you than a one page resume does.