Q. You mentioned that too many internships could make one unhireable. Could you talk more about that? I've had one unpaid internship and one fellowship, and I'm doing a five-month-long temp/paid internship with a large metro daily now.
(This question is from a March 31 Poynter chat, "How Do I Break into Journalism in 2009?") A. I think you should be fine.
Internships are almost essential to getting hired, and they will at least help you start bigger and better, but too many can be a drawback.
Here's what I wrote on the subject in "
Breaking In: The www.Jobspage.com Guide to Newspaper Internships":
"It's not the number of internships that can hurt as much as how long you keep interning after you become job-eligible. You can work as many internships as you like while you're in college, but don't keep doing that after college.
"If papers, even large ones, hire you for internships but not for jobs, editors at other newspapers might wonder why that is. After all, internships are, in a way, dress rehearsals. Editors may wonder if a lot of places are getting a look at how you work, but no one is trying to keep you.
"Internships are short-term propositions. You show up; you work for three months; you leave. If you're not great, no one has to fire you. We just have to wait you out. So, hiring an intern is low-risk. Hiring a permanent staffer with minimal experience is high-risk. Editors are not big risk-takers.
"We never like to make hiring mistakes, not even on internships, so we hire conservatively. In internships, as in jobs, editors try to hire sure-fired, guaranteed, can't-miss successes. One of the best ways to hire a successful intern is to hire one who is pretty much an expert at being an intern. Conservative hiring makes editors eager to offer fifth internships, but cautious about flipping interns into first jobs."
Coming Thursday: The workload has become ridiculous after four rounds of buyouts, and this survivor wants to be voted off the island. What can she do to get laid off?
