I Didn't Get an Internship the First Time

I don’t think it ever seriously occurred to me that I actually wouldn’t get an internship the first year I applied (or the second for that matter). Even if it did, everyone around me told me not to worry about it, that I’d have something. 

Unfortunately, they were wrong.

And once I didn’t have an internship spot that first year, there’s a handful of thing I wish someone had told me. (Spoiler alert: eventually I did get in on my third time applying, and I now work as a Registered Dietitian, and just passed my CDRE!).  

Hi, I'm Mairead and this post is for all the applicants who there who haven't landed an internship yet.

Here’s what would’ve been helpful for someone 

to tell me four years ago:

This is not the end of the world. Yes, it feels like the end of the world. But it’s not. No matter who else is doing what or where you end up, it’s not the end of the world. 

You’re allowed to have a pity party. You don’t have to move on to the next step yet. Not getting an internship when you want one is so so so hard and it sucks so so so much. If you’re stuck on that for a bit, that’s ok.

Your education up to this point is not wasted. Whether anyone has told you so or not, the world does need nutrition majors. Not just as dietitians, but in other roles too. Whether you end up working in nutrition or not, remember you have education in science, counselling, physiology, psychology, foodservice management and food science, to name a few areas. You can apply this to other areas besides dietetics. 

No one else has the answer for what you’re supposed to do. You can ask every faculty advisor and career counselor, but they won’t be able to tell you exactly what to do or exactly what steps to take in the next year to be successful applying again. You do have to go figure that out for yourself.

You can go do anything you’re interested in! Instead of volunteering just for it to be on your resume, you can volunteer because an event or program sounds awesome and you have the skills for it! You can take courses or certifications in anything that interests you. These are the things that will give you more knowledge to pull on as an intern and will give you an edge applying for jobs both before and after internships. 

Focus on other things. Try new hobbies and take on new projects. If you’re not a student right now, you might actually have more time for these kinds of things. Enjoy that time. Don’t put your life on hold waiting for that internship. Move somewhere you want to be, take jobs you’re excited about, get engaged, get a puppy, keep moving. 

Meet people. Reach out to people who are doing cool things that you’re interested in and ask them how they got there. Be interested in their stories and have an answer when they ask you what you do or what you want to do. Tell them what you’re interested in. Tell everyone what you’re interested in. You want to be a dietitian because you love helping people and love food? What about it? Make sure everyone knows what kind of things you get excited about so when there’s an opportunity or a project, they want you in it. 

Don’t limit yourself because you’re not a dietitian (yet). Can you take a position as a dietitian or act within their scope? Obviously not. But that doesn’t mean whatever you’re doing is any less cool or any less important. 

You’re not a failure. You’re only failing when you’re not moving forward, whether that’s towards becoming a dietitian or towards something else, even if you don’t know what that is yet. As long as you’re trying to learn and grow and trying to find a path that you love, you’re not a failure.

If/when you finally get an internship: you belong here. You know your stuff. You have experience to pull on and you deserve to be here as much as anyone else. 

You’re doing a good job and you’ve got this.