Which companies should I apply to for a marketing internship?

Is an internship or skill based learning more useful for the summer?

• My father wants me to have a summer internship this summer in some Multi National Corporation, but because I am a foreigner it is very hard to get internship from big companies, my only choice is a small firm, perhaps where not much can be learned. I also wanted to improve my Excel skills in the area of VBA which I believe would help me to get a job in finance/accounting industry upon graduation. In addition to that, I plan to start an e-commerce store this summer as well, I have a capital of $600. I cant be sure whether the store gonna be successful, my main objective from this store is to learn new things about marketing, entrepreneurship, SEO etc and make some money as well too. the thing is that it is my final year and it keeps me worried. I am not a bright student (second upper class for my second year and if it will take me a lot to maintain it through my final year) and is quite hard to get a job without internship nowadays as the job market is highly competitive currently. Some people have been telling me to improve and develop new skills which are more important than the internship but I am really in loss now, on what I should do. I would really appreciate if some recruiters could have provided answers to my questions and accounts/finance professionals on which skills i should develop. Thank you.

• Answer:

  Seriously consider an internship. There are so many ways an internship can benefit you. 1. Professional Connections Internships are an excellent opportunity to build professional connections. Unlike networking events, the people you connect with during an internship spend time with you in a professional setting and become familiar with your work. Therefore, these connections will be able to give you a strong recommendation in the future. Internships can also enhance your social life by introducing you to peers with similar interests. 2. Career Skills Whether it’s how to write a concise email, answer a telephone, or shake a hand there is a professional way to do everything. Working in an office environment, even briefly, as an intern, you'll have the chance to observe how others operate and take on those attributes that you feel work best whether it’s communication, behavior, or office etiquette. This way you won’t end up making mistakes or ask a lot of questions in your first full-fledged job. 3. A Way to Apply Your Skills Take your internship as the opportunity to test out the skills you developed in college and see how they work in the real world. By using your skills at your internship you'll get an idea of your own strengths and areas of skill that you’d like to develop. You’ll improve your chances of getting a job if you can show on your resume that you’ve already applied what you've learned at college in a professional environment. Read more on the Simply Hired Blog: http://blog.simplyhired.com/2013/05/8-things-you-can-get-out-of-an-internship.html#ixzz2UcD3kEe