NASW Internship Fair interview details
Day: Saturday, Feb. 16
Time: All participating students should report promptly at 1 p.m. Those who arrive after this time cannot be accommodated.
Place: Check conference program
NASW student members are invited to interview with editors from top magazines, research institutes, national labs and other science communication outlets during a speed-dating style internship fair, 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16. Regular recruiters include Science, Nature, Science News, Scientific American, Chemical & Engineering News, Reuters Health, Johns Hopkins Medicine, The European Molecular Biological Laboratory and Fermilab, which also recruits for CERN near Geneva, Switzerland.
To be eligible to participate in the fair, students must become NASW members by Feb. 1, 2019; your complete, paid applications for NASW membership at the student or regular membership level must be received by that date. Visit www.nasw.org/join for information on joining NASW. Note that signing up to view content on nasw.org is not the same as joining NASW. Please double check that you are a member before arriving at the fair venue. Because the fair takes place at the AAAS annual meeting, you also must register separately with the AAAS newsroom.
Complimentary AAAS Newsroom registration for NASW members opens in October. Onsite registration will be available in Washington D.C. for those who miss the online cutoff, but you are strongly advised to register online in advance. A separate general AAAS registration is not needed — once you pick up your newsroom badge you will have full access to all AAAS symposia, news briefings and social events that are not invitation-only.
STUDENTS: Attendance at the internship fair is limited to current students or those who have graduated within the past 12 months. Signup will be on the day of the fair only. It can’t be repeated often enough: You must arrive at the fair promptly at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16, to be eligible to participate.
Please come prepared. Make sure you have proof of NASW membership, at least 20 copies of your resume, a list of references and clips to share with recruiters. Dress professionally. Keep in mind that the fair is intended to be an opportunity for NASW student members to learn about various organizations’ internship programs and introduce themselves to recruiters to make a quick first impression. You will have just five minutes with each recruiter, speed-dating style, complete with timer and alarm bell.
Recruiters may identify prospective interns at the fair, but internships are generally not offered on the spot. Because of time constraints, you may not be able to meet with all recruiters, but you may leave a resume with each and follow up at your discretion during or after the AAAS meeting. The internship fair is long, so you may wish to bring drinks and snacks and wear comfortable shoes.
EDITORS: If your organization has a paid internship for which you are seeking excellent candidates, please contact fair coordinator Erik Vance at erik@erikvance.com to reserve a table. Please arrive at the fair 10-15 minutes before the scheduled start time, and bring about 50 copies of a handout describing your organization’s internship opportunities and remuneration. Consider having two people work the fair so they can allow each other to take a break, while still accommodating all the students seeking internships. NASW volunteers will be on hand to help recruiters and students as much as possible. Recruiters do not need to be NASW members.
See you in D.C.!
