Q. I'm a sophomore at a small liberal arts college. My experience comes from the student newspaper (staff writer, books editor, managing editor-elect), a high school science journal (editor-in-chief), a mid-size metro weekly (summer intern/freelancer) and a small New England daily (arts and living intern for the month of January).
I assumed I didn't have the credentials to land an internship at a metro daily, so I applied to two national magazines, not expecting a response. I recently accepted a summer internship at the New England daily. My reasoning was that I needed more time to practice and get to know the area. I also wanted more writing opportunities.
The problem is that I don't have a car. That means I'll have to use the fair-weather public transportation system to do reporting. The internship coordinator is willing to work with me, but depending on how mobile I am this summer, I'm going to have a hard time getting good assignments.
A few days ago, I heard back from one of the national magazines. The internship coordinator wanted to know when I could do an interview.
I know it's wrong to go back on my word, even if it's just to do an interview, but I'm wondering what to tell the magazine to keep the editors there interested. I would eventually like to work at a news magazine, if only as an intern. Local reporting is my other area of interest, although doing it without a car isn't what I had in mind.
Is there something I'm missing?
Deals and WheelsA. You have struck on two questions I deal with at some length in
"Breaking In: The JobsPage.com Guide to Newspaper Internships." On cars: This is an area in which I expect some interns to have trouble. In towns where you need to have your own car, you have to get creative. That's easy for me to say, I understand, but I have seen some pretty resourceful interns. One moved from Detroit to San Jose, Calif., bought a clunker, used it for the summer, sold it and moved back. Another got all around Detroit somehow, and it was weeks before we found out he had neither a car or a license. I still don't know how he did it. Work with that editor, but be as self-sufficient as you can.
Now, should you dump the newspaper you have already agreed to work at for the magazine, if the opportunity comes through? I would not. It is not the newspaper's fault you asked to work there without having a car, or that you guessed wrong about where you could be accepted.
I'm just guessing, but I bet the magazine does not pay, and I doubt it will give you as much work as the newspaper. Check this with the magazine's former interns.
I would do this: Try to work with dates so you can do a full internship with the newspaper, as you have promised, and an abbreviated one with the magazine. And work on that transportation issue. Congratulations on winding up with a dilemma; good luck on working out a win-win solution.
Coming Monday: Should she wait for the local paper in her new town, or wait until it posts an opening? She doesn't want to irritate the hiring editors by bugging them too soon.
