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Spotlight on Lauren Berger: Intern Queen Helping Dreamers

posted by ChickSpeak
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 11:57am CST

Lauren Berger is the self-proclaimed Intern Queen, so called because in her four years of college, she completed a record 15 internships!

“My mom called me and said, ‘Well, you better get into this interning thing,’” shares Berger in a 2009 Pomona College newspaper interview, “So I went to my career counselor and she said, ‘You can’t be an intern until you’re a senior.’

I said, ‘Maybe I can do it anyway.’ So I called up the company I wanted to intern for, and I started interning there. That was in Tallahassee, Florida in ‘02.”

It was in 2006, fifteen internships later, that Berger considered starting a business that would help students connect with internship opportunities. So within a year Berger began Intern Queen Inc., and by 2008 she had found an investor in Marshall Herskovitz (Producer: The Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Traffic), who helped her create “The Quarterlife Internship Program Powered By The Intern Queen“, a free listings website for students to search and apply for hard-to-reach internships.

In 2009, Berger successfully completed a nationwide college tour, and recently signed an endorsement deal with University of Dreams, an internship company out of Silicon Valley providing all-inclusive summer programs for students all over the world.

These days, InternQueen has been met with great success and has been featured on the likes of E! News Online, KTLA, Pink is the New Blog, Seventeen, The New York Post, and the Hollywood Reporter. At this point, it should be obvious that Berger is not your average, run of the mill twenty-something!

ChickSpeak was lucky enough to talk with Berger about her plans and goals for InternQueen, her interests, and the latest on getting that dream internship:

ChickSpeak: As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Lauren Berger: I wanted to be involved with Hollywood and the entertainment business - I also explored being a writer or a publicist.

CS: Congratulations on being named one of the top five entrepreneurs under 25, by the way! In retrospect, did you ever imagine you would be where you are today?

LB: Thanks! It was quite the honor. I was always told I had “potential” but when I was younger, I had a hard time managing my priorities and following through with plans. I got caught up in the social scene in high school and college and didn’t really focus on what I wanted. It took me a while to get to a place where I could put all of my energy into running this business full-time. Going through this whole experience has definitely made me believe that with hard work and focus - anything can happen. I mean, come on - my business is called INTERN QUEEN!

CS: What was it about internships that made you go back for more?

LB: They were challenging and exciting and presented a whole new world of opportunity that I hadn’t experienced from my classes or my extra-curricular.

CS: And of your fifteen internships, which was your favorite?

LB: I had a few favorites but I always like to mention my internship at the drama development department at Fox in Los Angeles. It was an amazing experience and I still stay in touch with several of the employers and fellow interns from that experience.

CS: What was your most challenging internship experience?

LB: I interned with TransCon in Orlando (The whole Lou Pearlman situation) before it went under. It was a difficult experience because there was lots of “talking” and not much action. It was hard to understand what was going on - and now I know why!

CS: When is the best time to start looking for internships?

LB: All summer internship applications should be turned in by March 15.

CS: What advice do you have for future interns?

LB: Stay focused on what you want. Don’t let rejection letters get you down. You have to get rejected sometimes to end up where you are supposed to be. Trust me!

Also, it’s not enough just to show up at your internship - you need to follow my advice on InternQueen and really take advantage of your opportunities and put yourself out there.

CS: Who do you admire and why?

LB: I admire many different leaders, entrepreneurs, and business executives. I admire Ivanka Trump and how she carries herself, Elizabeth Hasselback - not because I necessarily agree with her opinions but I think she’s able to speak her mind - essentially disagree with everyone - and keep her class and poise. I admire Rachael Ray and love how she’s been able to brand herself, so consistently in so many different areas. In general, I admire women-leaders who have found a way to balance their lives. I’m obsessed with hearing how people run their days and manage their health, family, relationships, work, and happiness. It’s all very fascinating to me and I learn lots from watching others.

CS: What are your plans for Intern Queen, say, five years from now? What are your own personal goals?

LB: My goal is to continue to reach students across the globe over the next few years and help place them in whichever industries interest them. I’d like to increase the value of the company so that one day it can be sold off and I can put my mind to work and create something else amazing!

CS: What was your last iTunes download?

LB: Maybe that new song by KE$HA, “TiK ToK” - every entrepreneur needs to be constantly energized and fun music really helps!

CS: The last book you read?

LB: I’m currently reading Pour Your Heart Into It - the Starbucks book, and also Add More Ing by Gabrielle Bernstein. Every Sunday, I like to go to Barnes and Noble, and skim all kinds of books: business books, college guides, entrepreneur books, cook books, fitness books, autobiographies, etc. Did you see that book that just came out, LIVING OPRAH? The concept is genius!

CS: You said you’re obsessed with hearing how people run their days and manage their health, family, relationships, work, and happiness. So what about you? What does a day in the life of Lauren Berger entail? What do you do to relax after a hard day’s work?

LB: Funny you ask. This is actually my favorite question to ask other people. When I’m not traveling, a typical workday includes getting up at around 6 a.m. to jump on a conference call with my interns to go over the day’s projects. I spend about an hour processing my e-mails and “to do” lists for the day. I’ll usually have a list of conference calls for the day or business calls that I need to make. I do those early because I’m on PST and most of the people I’m speaking with are on the East Coast.

Around lunch time, I’ll take a break and make some food while watching a little bit of THE VIEW (I love that show). I always get tired right after I eat so I grab my stuff and walk down the street to my favorite coffee shop and work for a few hours there. Whenever I’m walking somewhere or driving somewhere, I try to call one of my friends or family in Florida. My friends and family from home are very important to me so I do whatever I can to stay in the loop! I’ll do some sort of workout in the evening.

My new favorite is Piloxing. I’ll come home and power through a little bit more work. I try to do my writing at night - blogs, articles, and I’m also currently working on a book project. I tend to eat dinner on the later side, so I’ll normally work until about 9 p.m. and then make myself do something that is NOT work-oriented - perhaps read a book or magazine, chat with a friend in L.A., listen to music and cook dinner.

Because I’m constantly thinking work, work, work - I try not to read too many business books at night as they tend to make me not want to relax. After 10 p.m. it’s television time (on DVR of course) - I’m addicted to The Bachelor, Biggest Loser, Apprentice, Dexter, True Blood, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men!

CS: What else can you tell me about your website InternQueen? Do you offer resume consultations, other advice?

LB: InternQueen is an internship destination for students who need to find internships, employers needing interns, and anyone looking for internship advice. The site currently features over 500 internship listings in Entertainment, media, public relations, sales, marketing, new media, start-ups, non-profit and more. We currently focus on NYC, L.A., Washington D.C., Canada, Florida, and Chicago internships. We are expanding into new locations and industries every day.

The goal is to help any student looking for an internship in any industry - anywhere in the world. The site also features my blog I AM INTERN, internship tip videos, and more. I do offer resume and cover letter “Makeovers” for $20 each. I also do internship personalized consulting for $200. I don’t promote these on the site because they take tons of time so I only do them when students email me and specifically request these services. Otherwise, the site is 100 percent FREE thanks so a new sponsorship from OneCubicle - a great professional branding website.

For more information of Lauren Berger, and a list of internships, check out her website or follow Lauren on Twitter.

Jasmin Charters has never had an internship, but believes it hasn’t hurt her one bit. If you’re like her and don’t have any internship opportunities where you live, volunteer! Clean up your resume and start making calls. Most of the time, small business, galleries and the like, are just happy to have the help. It’s great experience, and it shows you’re committed. Check out Lauren’s website at for any internship listings in your city!