Dear Ed,
At my school, we’re only allowed two internships, so I want to make sure that I’m aiming high. I really want more than anything in the world to work in NYC, and I know that getting a big-name internship there would help me greatly. I recently accepted an internship at a local magazine in my town-no big name at all. I registered for it at my school and am set to start in the fall. I decided that I wanted to apply for some NYC ones just in case to keep my options open. If I were to receive a better offer, is it okay to decline the first one?
Thanks,
Lauren, Baltimore, Maryland
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Dear Lauren,
Aiming high is great; burning bridges is not. Granted, if your goal is to work in NYC, the chances that you’ll run into these MD editors are slim, but certainly not impossible. You’d also need to consider how your school will react to changing internships after you already registered for one. But at this point, Ed wouldn’t worry about declining anything.
Since it sounds like this would be your first magazine internship, don’t underestimate how many opportunities you’ll get there. Sure, having a big name on your resume can help you get more big name jobs, but you’ll likely get more editorial responsibilities at this smaller pub than you would as a first-timer at a national mag.
Go ahead and apply for those NYC internships, but if you get interviews, make sure you find out exactly what sorts of tasks interns have on a daily basis and what opportunities are available to them. Weigh your responsibilities against each other, and, before you back out of your current offer, talk with your school about what the consequences of changing internships would be on their end.
And even if you’re not jumping for joy about your local mag internship, don’t let it show. Do each task there with as much enthusiasm and attention to detail as you can muster-Ed promises it’ll take you places, maybe even to NYC, if you do.
Love,
Ed
