As I began the internship application process, I noticed that fellow students, myself included, were tending to apply to the same popular and highly competitive internship sites. The American Music Therapy Association publishes a list of National Roster Internship Programs, however, there are many more internship positions available through university affiliations. Speaking with your professors about university affiliated internships can be extremely helpful during the application process.
Many of my peers avoided applying to sites in which their close friends were applying to in order to minimize conflict. However, regardless of that fact, conflict still found its way into the picture. The best way I found to avoid it was to refrain from discussing the internship process with peers entirely. I did not adhere to this, but if I had, my life for the past six months would have been a lot easier. Applying for internships is an exciting time in the life of a music therapy student and it is understandable to want to share that excitement with close friends who happen to be in the field, however, as hard as it is to avoid talking about it with peers, doing so prevents a lot of hurt feelings and helps one better prepare for life as a professional.
Unfortunately life is all about competing for everything. You have to put friends feelings aside and do what is best for you and your career. Don't ask don't tell is a good policy for anything you are wanting that other people are competing for.
ReplyDeletehi elisa!
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with your comment about not talking to your peers about specific internships you apply for, I have to question the statement about a lack of internships. If you have some numbers on this, id love to see them!
My observations are mostly that all the interns apply for the same handful of internships while other, less publicized ones go unfilled or half full. I've also noticed interns not applying for enough sites, or not exploring university affiliated options.
You are completely right. Many students applying for internship do tend to apply to the most competitive sites and do not look into other options such as university affiliated internships or other less publicized positions. I will edit this in my post! Thank you for the feedback!
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