ISU Marketing Internship Program

Dr. Jim Cox, Director
23D WIH Phone 438-7286

 

Internship is one of the activities a student can do during his or her education at ISU that will make a significant difference in his or her marketability upon graduation. The benefits to the student and to the company are so great that an increasing number of companies are using internships as their major form of recruiting employees.

How an internship can point you in the right direction? Read job postings article. Recommended.

STRUCTURE

The Marketing Department has three tracks for internships. They are outlined below.

MKT298

  • counts toward general electives
  • taken on a pass/fail [credit/no credit] basis; 1-6 hours credit
  • student has less than 9 hours of marketing coursework completed
  • some documentation needed on the nature of the internship

MKT398.01

  • may count up to 3 hours as a marketing elective [and 3 hours as a general elective]
  • taken for grade
  • student has at least 9 hours of marketing coursework completed
  • need extensive documentation of the duties of the internship
  • student has not received credit towards the major for:
    • trip abroad program
    • undergraduate teaching assistant
    • independent study
    • honors seminar

MKT398.02

  • may count up to 6 hours as a general elective
  • taken on a credit/no credit basis
  • student has at least 9 hours of marketing coursework completed
  • need documentation of the duties of the internship

FINDING AN INTERNSHIP

There are three avenues open for finding an internship. In each case, the student will have to go through an interview process before he/she will be accepted.

The first avenue is for the student to follow up the companies who have contacted the Professional Practice Office in the Student Services Building, indicating that they have internships available. There are two ways to review these opportunities:

  1. go to the Professional Practice Office
  2. check the bulletin board outside of 325 Williams Hall

Normally, the student will send a cover letter and a resume to the corporate contact listed on the internship description. The interview will be set up on an individual basis. The student will usually travel to the business for the interview.

The second avenue for finding an internship is for the student to make his or her own contact. Most of the internships have been arranged this way. Here the student approaches a possible employer and investigates the possibility of doing an internship. The Director of Internships, Dr. Cox, is happy to talk to any business who expresses interest in pursuing an internship.
We have also prepared a resource packet for the student, which contains ideas on how to:

  • find companies
  • how to write a cover letter
  • how to write a resume, and
  • how to prepare for the interview

Searching for an internship is an excellent way to prepare for your job search upon graduation.

The third avenue consists of the internship opportunities that the Director of Internships, Dr. Cox, arranges for students. These internships will be announced in marketing classes, and usually a prescreening is done by Dr. Cox. Those that qualify will be allowed to sign up on an interview schedule when those firms come to campus for interviews. Currently, there are only a few companies coming to campus to interview for internships.

PROCEDURE FOR REGISTERING FOR AN INTERNSHIP

  1. If you are interested in an internship, please fill out a "Marketing Internship Profile" as soon as possible. We will keep this in our files to give to possible employers or to help us match student interest with internship opportunities.
  2. An employer agrees to hire you as an intern.
  3. An "Internship Employment Verification Form" is filled out by the student and business. Signatures are required.
  4. The student fills out the "Professional Practice Insurance Certification Form".
  5. Dr. Cox determines the type and hours of credit for the internship and signs a permission form to be taken to Williams 301 (the COB Advisement Center).
  6. The student registers for MKT298 (credit/no credit) or MKT398 (3 hours marketing credit - this may be for a grade or for credit without a grade).


Failure to register as determined by the Director of Internships may result in no credit given for the internship.

IS IT WORTH IT TO DO AN INTERNSHIP IF I CAN'T COUNT IT TOWARDS THE MARKETING MAJOR?

Yes, it is worth it to take it for formal credit even if you take it as credit/no credit (it doesn't count as a marketing elective). There are several reasons for this.
First, it will show up on your transcript for an employer to see.
Second, it allows the Director of Internships to work with the business to maximize your internship experience. It also allows the Director to intervene if things are not turning out as promised by the business.
Third, it encourages the company to structure the internship more formally than it might otherwise be.
Fourth, you will receive a formal evaluation from the employer so you will have some concrete performance measurement at the end of the internship.
Fifth, you will learn more if you write a paper reflecting on your internship experience.
Sixth, and finally, you will get feedback from the Director of Internships about the experience you had.

WHAT TYPE OF INTERNSHIP IS MOST LIKELY TO GET MARKETING CREDIT?

Following are several items that will make it more likely that marketing credit towards the major can be given for the internship. In essence, the student needs to make a case of why he/she should forego a marketing course and instead get credit for the internship. We are very willing to give marketing credit if sufficient evidence is given that this is a worthwhile internship experience.
A written description should be brought to Dr. Cox covering these areas before this determination is made.

  1. STRUCTURE - We look for a structured program where the course of training is laid out week by week. That is, the course of study is known before hand. The more structure the better. If it can't be structured week by week, the percentage of time on each type of activity might suffice.
  2. SUBSTANCE - The experiences received would add significantly to the education of the student. Some companies have a list of concepts to be learned by the time the internship is over. The more broad-based and richer the experience, the better.
  3. SUPERVISION - The internship experience would be closely supervised by the business so that the student would be getting frequent feedback on whether he/she is performing satisfactorily. A student may get experience, but unless he/she is supervised and corrected (if necessary), it may not be a good learning experience. The more frequent and formal the supervision, the better.
  4. SPECIAL PROJECTS - Learning projects assigned and evaluated by the business during the internship is a definite plus.

SHOULD YOU TAKE ALL YOUR MARKETING ELECTIVES, EVEN IF YOU TAKE A GRADED INTERNSHIP (which can count as an elective)?

Yes, I believe that if at all possible, you should try to take all your marketing electives and not substitute one for your internship. This will show future employers that you made the best opportunity of your educational experience at ISU. If I were a recruiter and saw you were only taking 12 hours, I might wonder why you didn't make the most of your educational experience. If you substitute the internship for a marketing elective, you are still essentially like others in the marketing program. However, if you take all your electives and do an internship, this truly will set you apart from others. This may be your only chance for a formal education. Please make the most of it.

E-mail Dr. Cox