For more Common Questions About the Senior Experience (FAQs) click here.

What is the Senior Experience?

The Senior Experience (SE) is a premiere college internship program, which takes place at University of Oregon’s Portland Center.  It is offered for School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC) students in their last term before or close to graduation.  The SE takes place during the fall (Sept-Dec) and spring (Apr-June) quarters of the academic year. 

Students who are accepted into the SE program must be in good academic standing, demonstrate strong communication skills and be approved by a faculty panel to gain admission into the program.  In addition, students with previous internship or work experience may be given preference over students who have no experience.  Approximately 10 to 15 students are selected for the program each term the SE is offered.

The SE has already served more than 60 students in five terms. The job placement or internship extension rate is nearly 60% -- a significant number when one considers how difficult and competitive the communication fields can be to enter upon graduation.  With more than 50 employers already supporting the SE, this is a strong, successful program, which has already helped many students begin careers.

If an intern doesn’t get a full-time offer at the end of his or her experience, that's OK, too.  That company may not have a position available, or maybe you wouldn't want to work there after all.  An internship provides you with two great tools.  First, you gain excellent real-world experience to put on your résumé.  Second, you get an inside look into a field of work in which you're interested.  This can help you have a better understanding of where you want to take your career.  The least an internship will do is get you thinking about what you really want to do for a living.
 

How long does the Senior Experience last?

The SE is designed to match the 10-week academic cycle, and we try to honor that commitment.  However, many of our business partners have expressed that they would prefer students who could make longer commitments, with internships lasting up to six months. We try to make the SE as flexible as possible, and students are welcome to begin their experience before the start of the academic year (during the summer) or have it extended beyond graduation, if the business partner agrees.  In fact, some students have agreed to six-month internships rather than the typical ten-weeks, as that often works better with an organization’s fiscal and client project calendar.

Those students who are willing to commit to longer internships will likely have more opportunities to interview, find greater access to client projects and accounts, make stronger business contacts and enjoy more ownership of individual projects within an organization.

From an employer’s perspective, a longer internship makes more sense.  Significant amounts of employers’ time and resources are spent getting interns up to speed on client projects and accounts, in addition to helping them mesh within an organization’s overall culture.

Are internships paid?

The SE will always try to arrange for interns to be paid, but we cannot guarantee compensation. If it comes down to the internship experience without compensation or no internship experience at all, we encourage you to take the experience. 

Consider the fact that it's becoming harder and harder for college graduates to find work right out of college with nothing but a framed diploma. Most companies look for real-world experience when hiring, and the best way to get that experience is through an internship. Any internship is worth it in the long run if a student wants to get a foot in the door and figure out a career path.

Where possible, interns earn $10/hour for approximately 20 hours per week (about $2,000 for the term).  A typical schedule has students working 8AM to 12PM, Monday through Thursday, and 8AM to 12PM or longer on Fridays because students don’t have class on Fridays.

Compensation often hinges on several factors, the greatest being the economy.  Public relations and advertising (as well as graphic design and online media) are considered “client service” industries.  That is to say, they are dependent upon client dollars to stay in business.  When times are lean, client dollars dry up and organizations are unwilling to pay for additional expenses, such as interns.  When economic times are more generous, paid internships are easier to acquire. 

 How do I get an internship?

This first thing that you will need is to have a good understanding of your area of interest.  Are you interested in media relations?  What about government relations?  Perhaps you are interested in working with an environmental organization?  What about a non-profit organization? Maybe you’d like to be at a smaller agency because you would have more opportunities for hands-on projects or a large firm where you might have greater opportunities to network? Maybe you’d like to work for a newspaper or a local radio or TV station?  Perhaps you are passionate about photojournalism?

The best thing you can have is a good, professional résumé with some previous work experience, ideally in the career field you would like to enter.  Working with the SE program manager, you’ll be given a questionnaire and we’ll try to identify your two or three key areas of interest.  We want to make sure the internship is as valuable to you as it is to the employer.  Once we have identified your areas of interest, using your résumé and portfolio, the SE program manager will try to match you with a potential employer.  If the employer thinks you’d work well with his or her organization, you will have a personal interview with him or her.  The employer will arrange for you to come in for the interview and decide if you’d be a good match.  The final decision will come down to your interview, résumé and the employer.

It is important to note that many of the internship opportunities are very competitive.  In many cases you are competing against students from other colleges, other SE students, recent college graduates and, sometimes, people with several years of professional experience who are looking to change their careers.  Neither the University, SOJC nor the SE have exclusive rights to any internship – the competitive process for an internship is as real world as it gets, which we believe is a valuable learning tool, as well.

What makes a Senior Experience intern successful, and what “tools” do I need to secure an internship?

As a SE student you have many things working for you.  You have an exceptional education from a nationally recognized school of journalism and communication at a top-tier university.  Feedback from business employers consistently states that UO students are among the best and brightest they have ever worked with.  We believe the significant number of students who have their internships extended or a job offer at the end of their internship echoes this. 

The tools and skills you need to land a future full-time job are the same tools you will need in your internship search.

• A well-written, flawless, professional résumé

          Showcase your professional experience over your education.

          Triple-check to ensure your résumé is free from misspellings, poor grammar, syntax errors, etc.

• An attention-getting, easily customized cover letter

          This is your chance to explain why you believe you are the best candidate for the opportunity. Along with your portfolio, this letter will accompany your résumé to any potential employer.

• Examples of your capabilities

          A good portfolio of your work will put you ahead of many other competitors.  Samples of your work, both professional and academic, will set you apart. Plan to bring them with you.

• Strong interviewing skills

          Interviews are face to face, and it’s a good idea to practice. Students are always welcome to work with the SE program manager on mock interviews before you meet with any organization.

          Knowledge of the organization

                 Never go into an interview without having done your research first.

                 Who are its clients and who are its competitors?

                 Has it won any industry awards?

                 What is its culture?  What does it pride itself on?

          Initiative and persistence to make it happen

                    Interviewing is a skill everyone has had to learn.  The most successful students who interview are the ones who have done so in the past…and gotten the job.  Interviewing takes practice, lots and lots of practice.  Students average more than one interview before they land their internship.

• Networking contacts

          The old adage really is true; it isn’t what you know, it’s who you know.

                    Do you know someone who already works in your desired industry?  What about faculty members? 

                    Do your parents or their friends have contacts to whom they might be willing to introduce you?

PDXSX: The Blog

Who are some of the businesses that have worked with the Senior Experience in the past and support our program?