Why I Didn’t Apply to Every Internship (and Landed the One I Wanted)
Written by: Maddilynn Henderly
When I grow up I want to be...
a firefighter (kindergarten)
a marine biologist (4th grade)
an engineer (middle school)
an artist... but analytical (freshman year)
a graphic designer (sophomore year)
Hi, I’m Maddi! I’m a graphic designer interning at AR Marketing, a creative agency based in Findlay, Ohio. I’m currently pursuing my Bachelor of Fine Arts at Bowling Green State University and am from Sylvania, OH. I have a passion for branding and love using creativity and strategy to make things make a little bit more sense. There’s something so satisfying about all the little pieces of a campaign, brand identity, or design working together to tell a cohesive story.
Why I Put All of My Eggs in One Basket
Getting an internship in college can feel overwhelming, mostly because there’s no real playbook. No one tells you how formal to be, how much personality to show, how much to risk, or exactly what steps to take.
For me, I went all in on one opportunity. I know that’s not the advice most students get; the popular recommendation is to apply everywhere and see what sticks. But casting a wide net can lead to a lack of motivation and stale cover letters. It’s easy to get caught up in copying and pasting the same application, over and over, and lose the part of yourself that makes you memorable. (Let’s leave the scripts to the content strategists.) So let’s take a deep dive into how I got here.
Finding AR & What Stood Out
When I was searching for an internship the process looked like this. Scroll on Handshake and LinkedIn, save job postings, annotate lists of jobs with key highlights, and close the document avoiding it for the next 2 weeks, repeat. And I think that this is a very real experience for a lot of students. Spoiler: That method? A big no from me. I ended up so burned out with my internship search.
What worked for me though…
The Essentials
An up-to-date resume
College focused, highlighted skills, relevant to the job
If you are a designer, go crazy, design your resume to scream “you.”
A standard, AI-proof version
Consider how people will read it. Section information and highlight your skills.
Relevant metrics & details
A short, genuine cover letter
I researched AR’s values, work, etc..
Find common ground. Don’t just write what you think they want to hear!
Show interest!
Ask to hear about what they do (job shadow).
Reach out on LinkedIn.
Send your portfolio of work.
Send genuine follow-up emails!
I did research on AR’s website and socials to get a feel for what a day in the life working at AR Marketing might be like.
I was intrigued by design centered around Grocery and food.
I reached out to a handful of people on LinkedIn, just hoping to chat, and Lindsy Warnecke (senior graphic designer) sent me to their website.
I ended up applying and sending my portfolio over to Blake Martin (creative director).
He brought me in for a job shadow and the environment sealed the deal.
All of the other options didn’t compare and I knew that it would be worth driving the extra distance to Findlay to have this experience. They were (are) such genuine, excited, intelligent, and talented people. And I needed to be a part of it.
I’m not saying that I skipped the typical process entirely; I definitely still researched dozens of other agencies and internship options. But my biggest win was finding a place that I was extra super excited about. You can apply to backup places, sure, it’s good to have a safety net. But make sure that if you can’t give one hundred percent to twelve places, you'd better give one hundred and ten percent to one.
Living Passion Forward: What Led Me to Graphic Design at AR
A conversation that I had with my Poppi when I was younger still affects how I think about work today. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I got older. He told me, “I love my life because I don’t have to work.” He didn’t mean he was retired; he meant he loved his job so much, it never felt like work. It was just another aspect of his life.
I think that’s what makes a position really worthwhile. When you’re passionate about what you’re doing, it flows. The ideas are better. The team dynamic is better. You grow faster. You’re more excited to show up, and other people notice.
That mindset is what led me to be a designer and to AR Marketing. I wanted a place that would challenge me creatively, surround me with excited and curious people, and help me grow into the kind of designer I want to become. This internship continues to expand my skills and experience. I've had the chance to collaborate with passionate creatives, think and create strategy forward, and get a glimpse into the array of positions within a marketing agency.
Advice to College Students
If I had one piece of advice for students looking for an internship, it’s this:
Treat it like an opportunity, not a checklist.
Don’t do it just because you feel like you should. Do it because you genuinely want to be there.
Grab coffee… Talk with someone who’s been in your shoes.
Shadow…Experience a day in the life of a team you admire.
Don’t paint a false picture…Wear something that feels like you.
Be memorable…Say something that only you would say.
And when you stand out amongst the stack of resumes, because you will, take a second to figure out why. That’s your brand, what makes you, you. And that’s what people remember.
