Nashville Summer Internships: Your Guide to Music City Opportunities

Nashville, the heart of country music and a hub for diverse industries, offers a vibrant landscape for college students and recent graduates seeking enriching internship experiences. More than 1.5 million guests explored the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum in 2022, placing it among the most visited history museums in the country. Whether you're drawn to the arts, entertainment, or business sectors, Nashville provides a unique backdrop for professional growth. This guide will provide tips and tricks for finding and thriving in summer internships in Nashville.

Diverse Internship Opportunities in Nashville

Nashville's internship scene is as diverse as the city itself. Opportunities span various fields, including:

Cultural Institutions: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum offers internships in collections, development, education, event management, library, marketing, public relations, and more. These internships provide a fun, friendly, and supportive learning environment.
Museums: The Parthenon offers guided internships that provide opportunities to future professionals in museum leadership, including education, collections management, and curatorial work. The Wesley Paine Internship is a paid summer program, that is open to currently enrolled college students, and to recent graduates. Fall and spring internships offer academic credit and are for students who are currently enrolled in an academic institution, and are eligible to be paid $15 per hour, if academic programs allow.
Corporate Roles: Companies like KrollInsight Global, Erie Insurance, Reynolds and Reynolds, and UnitedHealth Group offer internships in various business functions.

Internship applicants may apply for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Field Forward program. Field Forward is a living and relocation stiped-offered to select candidates in addition to the paid internship-to support students who identify as traditionally underrepresented in cultural arts careers, as well as students with demonstrated financial need.

Landing Your Nashville Internship: Tips and Tricks

Securing a coveted internship requires preparation and a strategic approach. Here's how to make your application stand out:

Optimizing Your Resume and Profile

Update your resume: Before sending out applications, ensure your resume is current and highlights your most relevant skills and experiences.
Complete your Handshake profile: Recruiters are more likely to contact students with complete profiles. Fill out all details and specify your interest in working in Nashville. With a complete profile, a fulfilling internship in Nashville is more attainable than ever.

Acing the Internship Interview

Prepare thoroughly: Review your resume and cover letter, and be ready to provide specific examples of your experiences, whether from clubs or coursework.
Practice your interview skills: Schedule a mock interview with your university's career center or ask a friend to grill you on common interview questions. When you do land your first interview, be it a virtual interview or in person, make sure to come prepared and dressed to impress.

Networking for Success

Build connections: Once you've landed an internship in Nashville and settled into the flow of day-to-day life at your job, start chatting with your coworkers. Treat your colleagues with respect, whether they're industry professionals or fellow interns.
Seek informational interviews: Don't hesitate to ask your new colleagues out for quick coffee chats or request 15-minute informational interviews about their career trajectories. You never know what insights they could lend, or who could be a valuable connection down the line, five or ten years from now.

Leveraging Opportunities for Growth

Attend virtual events: Delve deeper into your career path by attending virtual events to learn more about your field and network with employers and industry specialists. Not only will you be learning more about your own career, but there will also be chances to network with employers, industry specialists, and other students sharing different perspectives.

Finding Internship Listings

Handshake: Pinpoint internships in Nashville by selecting the city in the search bar. You’ll be able to pinpoint internships exactly where you want to intern just by selecting the city you want in the search bar. Internships in Nashville are a search away.
Company websites: Research top companies in Nashville by visiting Handshake employers and typing specific places into the "Location" search bar. Once on the company's page, you can read reviews from students who have interned there or study up on some interview questions.

Thriving in Nashville as an Intern

Adjusting to a new city can be exciting and challenging. Here's how to make the most of your Nashville internship experience:

Practical Considerations

Transportation: Nashville has so much to offer, although if you want to see it all one your own, we recommend that you plan your transportation ahead of time.
Housing: To find rentals, many interns use resources like Craigslist, Zillow, and other sites specifically for apartment hunting. If you have any connections in the city, it’s also always good to consider those first.
Budgeting: If you’re a transplant, it never hurts to review advice for living in a new city during your internship.
Compensation: Do you need your internship to provide compensation?
Affordable Neighborhoods: Are you renting in an affordable neighborhood?
Transportation Options: Do you have a vehicle? If not, are you comfortable using public transportation frequently?
Food: Will the food options available work for you?

Overcoming Lack of Experience

Review your resume: Think back to courses you’ve taken at university, as well as any extracurriculars, volunteer work, or even organizations (clubs or greek life for example) that you’ve participated in. Organize the skills that you’ve gained from those experiences and add them to your resume and Handshake profile.
Highlight transferable skills: If you don’t have previous experience and want to kickstart your first internship in Nashville, don’t fret! There are definitely ways to land that role you’ve had your eyes on. Nashville internships want you!

Understanding the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Internship Program

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is committed to providing a safe and secure environment. The museum's internships are work-based learning opportunities that introduce college students to museum-related careers and other professions found in large cultural organizations.

The Field Forward Program

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is a nonprofit organization. Please explain why you want to intern at a nonprofit museum. The following internships are available for the spring. Internship applicants may apply for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Field Forward program. Field Forward is a living and relocation stiped-offered to select candidates in addition to the paid internship-to support students who identify as traditionally underrepresented in cultural arts careers, as well as students with demonstrated financial need.

Application Process

Please expand upon your resume and cover letter and describe what strengths, skills, or professional experience you possess that would contribute positively to this internship experience. What would you like to learn during this internship, and how would this internship contribute to your future goals and aspirations? Internship supervisors review all internship applications and invite top applicants to interview for the position.

The Parthenon Internship Program

The Parthenon is committed to equity and inclusion at all levels. This includes providing guided internships that offer opportunities to future professionals in museum leadership. The Parthenon’s internship program is designed to introduce college students to the varied career paths offered within a museum environment, including education, collections management, and curatorial work.

Wesley Paine Internship and External Funding

The Wesley Paine Internship is a paid summer program, that is open to currently enrolled college students, and to recent graduates. Wesley Paine interns will be paid $15 per hour on a bi-weekly basis. Fall and spring internships offer academic credit and are for students who are currently enrolled in an academic institution, and are eligible to be paid $15 per hour, if academic programs allow. External Funding for Parthenon InternshipsThe Parthenon is also a potential host institution for applicants interested in the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) Elizabeth Bartman Museum Internship, which is a scholarship established in honor of AIA Honorary President Elizabeth Bartman to assist advanced undergraduates, graduate students, or those who have recently completed a master’s degree with the expenses associated with participating in a museum internship.

Read also: Internships in Nashville

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