My Summer as an Intern and Tips for Internships

For 3 months this summer I was working as a PR & Events intern at Umberto Giannini, if you haven't heard of the brand they sell hair-care and styling products in Boots and have salons across the country.
When I finished university for summer I thought I'd just be working as a waitress or something a little less glamorous and just have the weeks work experience I had planned at UG, but not long after finishing that work experience they asked if I would be interested in helping out with their latest product launch. Of course I said yes!
I had the opportunity to be a part of lots of exciting things from organising and hosting events at Boots head office and other Boots stores across the country and creating goodie bags for press and bloggers. Along side all the events and PR I did also do a lot of trend research so they could prepare and generate ideas for future Christmas gifts and styles for photo shoots.
I didn't feel like I was just an intern, I felt like part of the team. I thought being an intern would involve doing coffee runs and not contribute much because of what films represent them as.
I can't thank the people I worked with at UG enough for such an amazing opportunity and experience! It has definitely opened up my eyes to possible future jobs I would like to have and I got a real taste of the working world, getting up at 6am and getting home at 6pm commuting Monday to Friday was tough but so worth it!

My Top Tips for Getting an Internship

1. Contact lots of different brands even if they aren't advertising an opportunity. Don't be disheartened if you do get declined, you just have to keep trying!
2. If they can't offer you an internship straight up, ask for some work experience, even if it is just for a week. They will be more likely to contact you/accept you when an internship opens up.
3. Send them an online portfolio of any work you have done, whether it be creative or written. You can say you're good at this and that, but they'll want to see evidence of this. 
4. If you've already done an internship or some work experience or are about to, get as many contacts as you can whilst you're there as this can lead to a future internship/work experience with another brand or company.
5. Create your own contact cards, it's an easy, quick and professional way of getting your details out to people. I would recommend Moo.com I had some made by them and they are amazing quality and they often have some really good deals. 
6. Make sure your CV is up-to date and adapt it to fit the job you're applying for.

I'm looking forward to applying for more internships and experience in different areas of the fashion/beauty world and I hope some of you will find these tips helpful when you're applying for experiences too! If you have any questions feel free to comment below or tweet me.