Steps 3 and 4: The Cover Letter and Being an Annoyance

You've managed to throw together a passable resume.  (Or résumé, as I prefer to say, because I'm pretentious.)  You've decided where you'd like to work over the summer.  What's next?

1) Write a cover letter.

    
This step is a little misleading—you aren't writing a cover letter, you're writing one for each internship. For people who hedge their bets by only applying to two or three places, this isn't a big deal. However, it's goddamn awful for anyone stupid enough to apply for twenty internships (anyone like, I don't know, myself).

Unfortunately, a generic cover letter leads to instantaneous rejections.  Many different publishing internships exist, so specify whether you are applying for an editorial or marketing department.  If a company claims multi-tasking is key to the job, spend a sentence or two discussing your incredible multi-tasking skills. After you write enough cover letters, you can start to copy and paste selections from one letter to another.  Don't ask if you've written enough—you'll know.

I always start my letters off with "Please consider me for _____ internship."  This clearly and effectively communicates my intentions.  My next paragraph states my college, major, and qualifications, and skills.  I finish up with a short thank you and a variation of how I'd love to have the internship.

Here is an excerpt from a man applying to be an Assistant Editor at Business Insider.

I have always been an avid reader (fiction and news) and had my own blog a couple of years ago.  I received some feedback from the grandfather of a friend of mine, and it was very positive.  He had been in the publishing business for over 30 years and he felt that my writing style was a good blend of contemporary serious issues and sarcasm (for the first post).

Too bad all of my friends' grandfathers are dead...otherwise I'd have a job by now.

Hopefully it's clear why referencing the critiques of your friend's grandfather is a bad idea.  You write for a blog?  How wonderful.  Talk about page views and subscribers—for the sake of your employer's mental health, don't mention the elderly.  For other examples of terrible cover letters, check out this article from Business Insider.

2) Pester.

You may be good at pestering your sister, but pestering a company is entirely different.  For one thing, you aren't allowed to use physical violence.

"You're not bluffing—you'll actually poke me.  Take the internship, son, you earned it."

After waiting for two weeks but no longer than a month, send another email to the company and ask if they've made progress on your application.  I applied for most of my publishing internships over Christmas break, and sent follow-up letters in late January.  Adding an excuse for the communication makes you seem less annoying; I sent an updated resume along with my desperate pleas for attention.  Because I helped start a satirical college news show in January, this worked reasonably well for me.

If you feel uncomfortable badgering these companies to give you a job, too bad.  The point of pestering is to make the other person uncomfortable, not yourself.  Harassment equals success.  (This seems like a great slogan, but avoid using it in front of...anyone.)



So you've written your cover letters and your follow-up letters.  Tomorrow, it's interview time.

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