Get Hired: How to Be an Indispensable Audio Intern
In the music industry, internships can be an important step in networking, in learning how to be more professional in your field of work, and (hopefully) even in getting hired.
Because it can be so challenging to navigate your first internships, and to develop a clear plan for making the most out of them, I was very excited to talk to Emily White, author of Interning 101, manager extraordinaire, and founder of Collective Entertainment about how to make yourself indispensable in your internship.
Let’s start off by talking about securing an internship in the first place. In the interview process, how does one convince their possible future boss that they can become indispensable if given a chance as a regular hire?
Emily White, author of Interning 101, is beaming with tips on how you can secure a great internship.
That can be hard to do in an interview setting because you don’t necessarily know what the problems are yet.
To really be a star in the music industry sometimes means that your boss or client doesn’t even know the problem that they’re having until you help solve it for them.
As far as preparing for interviews—whether it’s a regular level job or an internship—definitely research the company as much as you can before you go in.
It sounds obvious, but you’d be amazed at how many prospective employees and interns don’t do it.
If you’re interviewing at a recording studio, try to find out what projects they have been working on. Or if you’re coming to intern for my company, Collective Entertainment, be familiar with all of the artists on the roster. It’s way easier to do now than ever. Research principal people at the company, and equally as importantly, research who’s interviewing you.
For example, I once had a meeting scheduled with a guy, and after I researched him, I noticed he worked at RCA Records. I came up managing The Dresden Dolls, and the guy who signed the band, David Bason, wrote him a recommendation on his LinkedIn, so I wove that into the conversation: “Oh by the way, I saw you were at RCA. Do you know an A&R named David?” I also know that everybody who knows him loves David Bason so of course when I said that, he said “Oh yeah of course!”
This exact example might not happen at an entry-level or internship interview—but you never know what you might have in common with someone. By the time you get to my level, and if you follow all of the tactics that I’ve used in my career, you can have a huge network.
I went to Northeastern University, and not to sound arrogant or anything, but anyone who studied music business there knows my name. That’s the kind of position you want to be in. Whatever stage you are at now, you can start thinking about how to make that the case for you in your career.
There are all sorts of connections you may not even realize you have. I just did a call with a really fancy woman at AEG, and she also went to Northeastern. She didn’t study music business, but just the fact that we went to the same school was an in. You can even figure out where someone is from, and hopefully, you’ve lived in the same city or part of the country, or have family that has.
I feel ridiculous saying this but there’s this wealth of information on the internet, so it’s really on you to prepare as much as possible. That can be as simple as going to every page on the company’s website, following them on social media, and getting in the loop on what they’re working on. There’s a lot of public info out there that you can find.
I have a couple friends at Northeastern and I’m going to admit that I’m a bit jealous of their co-op program.
It’s interesting. I consider Northeastern and NYU to have the best music industry undergrad programs. It’s awesome that interning is built in at Northeastern. Ultimately, they have you alternating semesters interning and going to school. So it is an awesome program, but at the same time, to me, New York is the music industry capital of the world. So if you got to a New York undergrad program and you’ve already figured out your dorm or your living situation, it makes it that much easier to intern, but it totally depends.
Both schools are great, and more schools are now doing things like Northeastern’s co-op program. I was on the swim team at Northeastern and there were women on my team who were nursing majors that were helping to deliver babies on their co-op. No matter what the field, anytime you can get real-world experience it’s crucial. More and more, universities are doing that—or heading in that direction—because students and parents are demanding it. And so are employers, to some extent.
It’s amazing to see how many amazing young professional songwriters, producers, engineers are able to get work now before they even turn 21.
Exactly, I couldn’t agree with you more.
Do you have any résumé tips?
There’s a wide variety of strategies here. Especially if you don’t go to school in New York or LA—and most of us don’t—you’re probably applying from afar.
I really encourage students to identify 5 to 15 targets to send résumés to so you can customize them to each company. 15 is probably a little high, but it can be manageable if you take it in batches of 5.
I encourage students to apply to the companies they’d die to work at, even if they don’t see a job listing, because their dream jobs and dream internships might not even be posted.
At my company, we’ve never had to post for an intern in a decade because people just come to us. Other companies are the same way. It could be that they’re too busy and they wanted to take on an intern but haven’t thought about it, but then a résumé lands in their inbox and they decide to try it. So definitely reach out, because you never know.
You want your résumé to be a PDF, and you don’t need your snail mail address on it. One thing to think about is what happens once they go past your résumé and research you. I had a great assistant at one point and her dream job came up somewhere else and I realized I hadn’t seen her résumé in a long time, so I looked at it with her.
When you’re a student, I assume you’re told all of the time “don’t post stupid stuff online.” Well, she had put her social media at the top of her résumé and everything there was very well-designed because she was highlighting that she goes to shows all the time and how passionate she was about the music industry, and that really stood out for the person interviewing her—as well as for me. So instead of being on the defensive and just hiding bad posts and avoiding doing stupid stuff online, start to think about your personal brand and how to project yourself in a positive way online.
Another really important thing, especially when you’re cold-emailing people, is to keep your email really short and to the point. Save all the things that you want to say for your interview, because the goal right now is to get your email read. People like me—employers—often read 200-300 messages a day, so the goal should be to get your email read. Make that easy to do.
Also be mindful of when you send that email. If you can’t send it at an opportune time, there are plenty of programs where you can automate when your email goes out. That’s a good thing to know how to do as well. I get way too many internship application emails between Christmas and New Year’s and that is the only time the music industry really takes off! I also get them on Saturday nights, on weekends, stuff like that. So again, send them on something like a Tuesday morning because we want to increase the likelihood that your email gets read.
Yeah, most of my college friends would apply during the Christmas through New Year’s time frame because it was when they started to stress about their upcoming semester internship requirement .
Well use that time to search! Spend that time researching, no doubt, but wait until the second week of January to email because the first week is usually a holiday. People are coming back after two weeks of vacation and usually aren’t checking their inboxes while they’re away.
In terms of email automation what programs do you use? Streak for Gmail?
I’m glad you mentioned that because I assume that’s free. I used to use Polymail Pro which is $100 a year and has other features beyond automating when emails are sent but, unfortunately, their new update went backwards in tech quality. Gmail also has a thing called Boomerang, but the fact that we were able to name three options means that the technology exists, so I encourage people to research on their own and figure out what makes sense for them. The main thing to reiterate about email is to keep your messages short. Keeping the font all the same, and being mindful of when it’s sent.
That’s also an interesting point about putting your social media at the top of the résumé, I wouldn’t have thought of that.
Yeah and like I said, I’m sure yo’’ve been encouraged not do or post stupid stuff on the internet. Educators have to start thinking about it in a different way: Start to put yourself out there and to think about your personal brand.
Every generation is different. Our star intern Mandy is on Twitter all of the time. I just spoke at Hofstra, and only half of the students in attendance were on Twitter. I encouraged them to consider joining for their own personal brand, and to start following industry people and being in the loop on stuff like that. The earlier we can get people thinking about that, the better. Not to mention, all bosses think interns have social media marketing skills, and they don’t, so you’re also helping yourself out by getting more familiar with these platforms even if it’s not really natural for you.
What are the social media platforms interns should learn to use?
I would say Twitter and LinkedIn as far as professional stuff goes. Facebook is up to the individual so use your discretion on it. I would add people at your internship after you’ve been interning there for a while, but you can’t go wrong with Twitter and LinkedIn because you typically don’t need to ask to follow someone on either platforms.
Instagram, plenty of us use it frankly for fun and for branding, but it’s up to you. My rule has always been to try to only post positive things on the internet, and that has never steered me wrong.
I’ve been approached enough times over the years by people saying “You do such a great job with your brand. How do I do that?””and I’ve found that the key to great online branding is just being myself. If I’m doing a speaking thing or an article about me comes out, I post it. Just be yourself.
White’s new book is jam-packed with advice on getting your next internship.
Do you have any specific tips for people going into studio internships?
The power of observation. A friend had an intern who was quiet and observed and if he saw a cable that needed to be wrapped, he would do it, or if the recycling bin was overflowing, he would take it out.
My friend was impressed with the intern’s pro- activity and that intern outlasted all of the others. No one is going to Berklee or SAE to learn how to take out the recycling, but that was something this intern could do without asking, and that made him stand out. Your internship should be about observing and learning, and not about sitting and thinking, “They’re not giving me anything to do.”
Right, it is also so important to not continually ask your boss, “What can I do today?”
Absolutely. Ask that, but don’t constantly ask that, and be mindful of when you ask that. If you are given a task, make sure to focus on that first and do it to the best of your ability.
Observing is so important in every internship, but it is crucial in studio internships! Students are given the advice to be proactive, but the real secret to success is to make yourself indispensable. This is where thinking about the task from your bosses’ end or how it fits into the bigger picture will help make you stand out.
Also, just show up! If the company you are at invites you to be in a meeting, on a conference call, or lunch just say yes! You have to say yes to every meet-up, every music conference, and say yes to everything.
How do you pick which music conferences to go to?
The music industry, for better or for worse, is completely oversaturated with conferences, so people should pick what they’re interested in and what they can get to.
If you’re a student, try to figure out how to get to SXSW. I always say it’s not your first South By if you’re not crying on 6th street, so the younger you can get that out of the way the better.
I think that SXSW and MIDEM are the best conferences in the world right now, but next month I’m speaking at Business Between the Waves Fest in Madison, Wisconsin, so if you’re based in the midwest, don’t feel like you have to spend all your money to come to NYC or Paris. Come up to Madison.
Even beyond official meet-ups and industry conferences, say “yes” to everything you’re invited to, including shows and hangs with musicians in your scene. At my first internship, my boss invited me to come to shows, and going to them is a no- brainer. Suddenly, I became fans of artists in many genres that I wouldn’t have necessarily sought out on my own.
Emily thanks so much for your time.
Well there you have it. Thanks again to Emily White and Collective Entertainment. If you enjoyed this interview, make sure to check out White’s new book, Interning 101, for some valuable tips and insights on how to rock your internship.
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