As the summer starts, I can’t help but remember the summers in between my years of college. While I was excited to spend time with my friends, my parents and had very different message: “You better get a job.” For those entering the interior design industry, internships are key. An internship is a fixed time of employment that can happen any time of year. Translation: it’s an opportunity for someone in a new field to take risks and learn about what you like and what you don’t like before you graduate. And the extra bonus is that you get to build your portfolio at the same time.
Based on my experience at various boutique and corporate firms in my early career, I was able to discern that I really liked hospitality over residential and preferred a boutique work environment vs. corporate. So here are 5 pieces of advice I’d like to share with new design interns:
- Take it seriously – although internships are temporary, they still very much count as a job to put on your resume. That means, arriving on time every day and bringing a notebook to take notes and stay organized. I used to keep a very detailed log of what I did everyday, and what questions I had the next day.
- There is no stupid question – it’s often very humbling to admit you don’t understand what something is or why it is done. But the only way to really learn is to ask questions regularly. So go for it and don’t worry what others think that you asked it.
- Variety is key – even though you may have a wonderful experience interning somewhere, don’t fall into the trap of continuing to intern there multiple times. While it may be hard to pass up extending an internship, you will have a very limited reference range. Instead, I recommend working in a small, medium, and large firm to gauge what each environment is like and which you prefer.
- Treat the world as your classroom – while the internship may take place between certain hours and in a certain location, take advantage of your commute to and from to soak up what the environment is telling you. What do you notice about the architecture of the buildings around the office? What catches your eye in art and nature? You start to gain not only inspiration but a distinct aesthetic when you nurture your design taste buds.
- Practice your core skills – internships are a great opportunity to gain core skills. This can include production work and learning new technical programs. Another core skill is understanding a firm’s design library and learning to discern between fabrics and textures and vendors.
There are so many other gems of advice to include but I don’t want to be too preachy. Above all, it’s critical to find a mentor or more experienced designer from which you can learn from. This can be found at a particular firm you’re interning at or from a different company. What matters is that you like how they work and aren’t afraid to ask questions with them.
Good luck this summer! AJC Design welcomes interns all throughout the year so if you’re interested, please email me your resume and portfolio today!