Guest Blog: Top 10 Tips and Tricks for Internship Applications with Jill Dunkel
Jill Dunkel, in maroon, being awarded a belt buckle for her time as Stock Horse of Texas Executive Director. She supervises 10 shows throughout the year, coordinates members in 30-plus states, and manages the interns she mentors through the association.
It’s the season for applying, be it summer jobs or internships, students of all ages are racing to snag a coveted position. Stock Horse of Texas Executive Director Jill Dunkel clocks plenty of hours reviewing résumés for both her marketing internship and shows intern, bringing students on each summer to assist with running one of the largest versatility stock horse associations in the country. Her three children have also written many applications for everything from youth officer organizations to college applications to job applications. She’s got it down as a reviewer!
Annually, Jill does a call for résumés and applications via social media and the SHTX newsletter. This year, 2025, she received more than 60 applications for the media intern position, so many she broke it into two internships and split the duties.
It took a lot of reading to zero in on the best candidates, and many applications were lacking in substance, or completely disorganized. To that end, Jill put together a guest blog for The Freelance Remuda followers with her Top 10 tips and tricks for applications!
1. Submit what the application asks for! If the job description asks for a résumé and a portfolio, be sure to send both. Some could-have-been top candidates sent a nice portfolio, but no résumé. Without a résumé, it’s hard to know if the individual is in school, what work experience they have, software they can use, etc.
2. Your email is an important part of your application. Consider your email to be your cover letter – you don’t need to send both. Make sure it is professional. Hit the high points of your experience and why you would be a good fit for the job. Any pertinent experience that sets you apart is great to mention in your email – especially if it is a life experience that might not be listed on your résumé.
3. Send PDF attachments for any documents! PDFs are universally accepted and opened by computers, tablets and phones. PDFs also retain the fonts and formatting. Word documents can look different depending on the fonts and software, which can change the overall look of your document. If you have multiple attachments (like your résumé, plus writing samples, graphic design samples, etc.) it’s helpful to pull those together into a single document, versus sending 14 attachments.
4. Online portfolios are a great way to showcase your work, but don’t make the reviewer hunt for your examples. In reviewing 40+ online portfolios, those that showcased multiple skill sets by skill (not by job) were easier to review than those who had links by job. For example, all photography can be under a photography link, then video examples grouped together, social media samples, etc. That gives the reviewer a good overview of your experience.
5. Graphic résumés are popular, but don’t lose focus on what is important. You have seconds to make a first impression and hope the reviewer will go deeper into your application. Save your fancy graphics for your portfolio. A to-the-point résumé with bullet points or highlights of experience will win out every time over a pink résumé with swirly fonts, a large photo, and no real listing of experience.
6. Your résumé should be a professional, job-oriented résumé, not an update from high school that focused on extracurricular activities and club leadership. Put your education and experience at the top. Include skills and computer programs you are proficient in.
7. If you’re a graduating senior, mention your immediate, future plans in your email or cover letter. My first thought looking at résumés of graduating seniors is “are they also looking for a full-time job?” Will they ditch the internship last minute because of a full-time job offer, and am I willing to take that risk?” If grad school is the plan, mention that so the reviewer knows you’re looking for a summer opportunity before grad school starts.
8. Sending samples via a cloud folder is a good way to share examples of your work if you don’t have an online portfolio – just make sure anyone can open it and see your files. Sending a Google Drive link that is restricted or the viewer doesn’t have permission for is a deal breaker. And just because YOU can open it, doesn’t mean others can. Send your links to a friend or family to see if they can open it before adding to your application.
9. Look at the internship criteria, and provide information related to your ability and experience specific to the criteria. Depending on the details, this can be included on the résumé and/or the email. If “horse experience is preferred” but you don’t have an equine job on your résumé, tell the viewer your equine experience in a few sentences in your email. If specific computer software is in the job criteria, list your computer knowledge in a skills section of your résumé or include in your email. The more requirements you can address or mention, the more “boxes your application will check” for the reviewer.
10. If you’re using AI to help write your email, edit it to sound like your own. Applications that sound completely like AI are discarded immediately.
The SHTX marketing intern creates reels, publishes images and works on newsletters, adding a wealth of published work to their résumé.