You Do Not Need an Internship to Succeed

There's been quite a bit of lamenting lately about the import placed on internship experience.

This needs some clarifying:

You don't actually need to have a fancy internship on your résumé. Really. You need something that gets a hiring manager's attention. That's what internships do—they open doors and allow you to put great corporate or creative names on your résumé—and they ultimately get you attention.

Other things that can also get you this kind of attention:

• Going to graduate school. Sure, it's something you have to pay for, but it's another way to get a recognizable name on your résumé.

• Taking a job that doesn't require an internship and working your way into a great role with a good title.

• Taking a job that allows you to build a body of work that will demand attention.

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