Our Specialist program was crafted to be the leading program for college students and recent grads to build a future career in marketing or design. We see it as the last internship you’ll ever do.
Our Specialists work 20 – 35 hours per week collaborating with our full-time employees, working for both our clients and Online Optimism itself. In return, we make sure they receive valuable, real-world experience, hourly pay, and the opportunity to team up with the best and brightest in the city.
Real Work, Real Experience
This opportunity isn’t about getting your boss coffee–we have a Keurig (and french press and espresso machine) for that. You’ll spend your time here working on real assignments and projects, being involved in actual client work, and teaming up with full-time Optimists as well as handling tasks independently. As one of our Specialists, you’ll leave us with a complete portfolio of work as well as a killer answer when you’re asked to talk about a time you proved yourself in your next interview.
Cold, Hard Cash
We provide $10 per hour pay to all of our Specialists. It’s the highest paid marketing internship you’ll find in New Orleans. For those still in school, we’re also happy to do everything we can to get you college credit. In addition, when your department director attends networking events and educational lunches, we’ll be sending you as well, ticket included.
Launch Your Career with our
New Orleans Internship
A majority of our full-time team started at Online Optimism as Specialists, and many of our Specialists go on to work at some of the top digital marketing agencies around.
An Optimistic Culture
Our company aims to keep everyone in our offices happy and facilitate their work any way we can, which is why we provide you with top-of-the-line office equipment, keep our cabinets fully stocked with your favorite snacks, take the whole team to free Friday lunches at local restaurants, and have a casual dress code. We’re also a dog-friendly office–dog preferred, actually.
We have multiple Specializations that applications may select from – you do need experience in the department to be accepted.
Available Specializations vary by application period. They’re typically from the below options.
You should apply if:
If Accepted, Your Day to Day Work May Consist of:
You should apply if:
If Accepted, Your Day to Day Work May Consist of:
You should apply if:
If Accepted, Your Day to Day Work May Consist of:
You should apply if:
If Accepted, Your Day to Day Work May Consist of:
You should apply if:
If Accepted, Your Day to Day Work May Consist of:
You should apply if:
If Accepted, Your Day to Day Work May Consist of:
You should apply if:
If Accepted, Your Day to Day Work May Consist of:
It’s Not for Freshmen
We have three requirements for our specialist applicants:
We’re aware: it can be frustrating to see a company expecting pre-entry-level applicants who are just starting out to already have experience, but our program isn’t marketing 101. You will be hitting the ground running with real work, which means you will have to bring a lot to the table.
For this reason, and the opportunities provided by our program, previous specialists include the usual rising seniors, as well as recent graduates and the occasional MBA and MFA.
Hear it from previous specialists
Online Optimism saw that I wanted to learn skills that would translate to the working field and gave me the opportunities to do so. And because it is a smaller team, Specialists feel valued, trusted, and useful. I don't think any other internship would have empowered me like my time at Online Optimism did.
Throughout the specialist program I was tasked with assignments that helped build my portfolio and was invited to be involved in meetings that have prepared me for dealing with clients big and small. If you are looking for an internship where you will learn and be challenged everyday, this is the place for you.
The specialist program allowed me to build my social media marketing skills in a positive, collaborative environment. Through hands-on experience and guidance from the Online Optimism team, I completed the program with a strong portfolio, prepared to confidently enter the workforce.
As a Specialist, I wrote content that was published in The Washington Post, Bustle, Elite Daily, Business Insider, and more. Online Optimism gave me opportunities to work closely with other team members and to build my skillset and portfolio. My real-world experience there was helpful when applying for (and getting) a full-time job offer during my senior year.
Our next specialist terms are below:
Summer, 2020 Specialist Applications Open: February 1st – February 29th, 2020
Summer, 2020 Specialist Term: May – August, 2020
Fall, 2020 Specialist Applications Open: May 1st – June 30th, 2020
Fall, 2020 Specialist Term: August – December, 2020
Spring, 2021 Specialist Applications Open: October 12th – November 1st, 2020
Spring, 2021 Specialist Term: January – May, 2021
