Job & Internship

Greenlee School Internship Liaison Kim McDonough Interview

By Trish O’Brien-Edwards, Greenlee Web Team

The one piece of advice the new internship coordinator for Journalism and Mass Communications would give you is to start early.

Kim McDonough, Internship Liaison

"You should start the minute you hit campus," Kim McDonough said. McDonough, a graduate of Iowa State and former Briar Cliff College professor, returned to campus to work on the Greenlee School of Journalism and Mass Communication’s internship program .

McDonough said her current focus is getting information to students.

The internship newsletter is one of the new projects she is working on to get information to students. The newsletter tells of upcoming interviews and other helpful information for the internship process. 

There is also a new feature on the Jl MC website where students can submit their internship plans. This new feature also allows students to track their progress. This new system replaced the previous, mail-based, system.

McDonough suggests having your resume and cover letter looked over by your faculty adviser or through LAS career services .  It is important that both of these documents look professional.

She also said you should be involved in campus organizations, such as the Ad Club or PRSSA, stating that employers look for cross-discipline candidates that can do more than one thing.  It will make you stand out from other applicants. 

McDonough suggested that students look at where they want to intern, as well as what kind of business they want to work for, when searching for internships.  Both are things that can affect your choices of jobs.

She points to the Jl MC webpage for information on finding an internship, and also suggests materials found in the Hamilton Hall Reading Room.

"We have a few things we keep in the office so they don't walk off," she said, holding up a book, "but people are welcome to come in and use them."

The Greenlee Reading Room is a good source of information, but so are websites found on the Jl MC webpage.

Finally, McDonough says it’s important to keep track of deadlines, especially for competitive positions.  "Some of the deadlines are early in the semester,” she said, “and have waiting lists.  The sooner you start the process, the more likely you are to get your dream internship.”