How to Get an Internship at Artsy—Part I
Every year, Artsy is lucky to bring on dozens of interns across our company. Selected from hundreds of candidates from around the world, our interns undergo a competitive application process. We’ve put together a three-part guide of essential tips and tactics to submitting a successful internship application, for Artsy or any other company.
(We'll focus here on non-engineering internships. For all you awesome engineers out there, check out this article from Artsy CTO, Daniel "dB" Doubrovkine, on using GitHub as your resumé.)
Part I—Sweat the Small Stuff
Nailing the details is often just as important as making a good impression during an interview. Throughout your application process, keeping track of the following lets us know you’re on top of it:
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Ahead of time
Use a professional email address.
pinkpuppies3000@ is hard to take seriously.
Polish your online presence.
This means having a robust LinkedIn presence and being smart about what’s showing up on your social media accounts.
Identify a specific role.
A direct application to a position communicates intentionality about your interest in Artsy.
Artsy interns from the Communications, Editorial, and Performance Marketing teams
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In your application
Follow the application directions exactly.
If the prompt asks for writing samples, be sure to include them from the outset. Only deliver a resumé in person if the posting explicitly asks for this.
Keep your resumé and cover letter to one page each.
Only include the information that’s relevant to this internship, and invest time in making that stuff really compelling.
Include key numbers.
GPA, graduation year, duration at each position—a resumé is incomplete without the numbers.
Format your resumé smartly.
A reader should be able to quickly find the information they need. For example, distinguish previous titles and employers with bold text.
Keep it easy on the eyes.
Bright colors, intricate designs, or fancy fonts are distracting and almost always unnecessary.
Find out whom to address your cover letter to.
“Dear Sir or Madame” doesn’t feel natural for anyone. LinkedIn is your friend!
Submit all application materials in PDF form.
This includes your cover letter, resumé, and writing samples regardless of their original format.
Include practical information like availability or status of work authorization up front.
Former Artsy intern, Brandon Eng, meets with his team mentor, Madeleine Boucher, to discuss The Art Genome Project
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For your interviews
Proactively offer availability for interviews.
Make it extremely easy for a hiring manager to get in contact with you.
Be on time.
Pick a coffee shop nearby the office, arrive half an hour early, relax, and then get to your interview five minutes ahead of time.
Bring copies of your resumé to your interview.
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After your interviews
Send individual thank-you emails within 24 hours.
Showing you remember and appreciate your conversation with a team member will make them all the more excited to work with you every day. It’s also just polite.
Choose your references carefully, and prep them about the company and the role.
This is arguably the most important part of Artsy’s hiring process, and we may call every reference you provide. Make sure they’re empowered to represent you well.
Just Getting Started
These first steps might seem insignificant, but as a whole, they reinforce you are organized, pay meticulous attention to detail, and that you really care about the application process. Sometimes it’s the investment of careful consideration that will distinguish you from the pack, and that starts with taking the small stuff seriously.
Stay tuned for Parts II and III, in which we'll share advice on crafting a great cover letter and keeping cool in an interview!
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Grayden Holubar is People Operations Manager at Artsy.net in New York. His primary mission is to help Artsy run smoothly and grow smartly. Gray graduated from Princeton University with a degree in art history; his thesis took a close look at contemporary and modern office architecture and its relationship to how we think about how we work. He has taught English in China, trained professionally in ballet and modern dance, and is a staunch supporter of the Oxford comma.
Keep up with Gray on LinkedIn!
