Don't wait -- Start searching NOW!

Don't wait until it's too late - most deadlines for summer internships are in the fall semester, usually between November through January.

But have no fear: There are still plenty of deadlines rolling into the spring and leading up to summer - but applying early and often might increase your prospects.

Joe Grimm, former Detroit Free Press recruiter and now MSU journalism instructor, offers a helpful timeline to keep intern seekers on schedule for their searches:

	If you're still looking for an internship	If you have one
Oct.	Mail your first applications. Earliest deadlines for summer internships are Nov. 1 and creeping earlier. Do on-campus interviews -- even if just for practice. Ask professors and editors for critiques. Diversify and improve portfolio.
Nov.	This is your busiest month for sending applications. Most deadlines are between Nov. 15 and Jan. 1.
Dec.	Big month for internship offers. Interview at a newsroom or two on winter break.
Jan.	Mail remaining applications. Check for application dates. Write thank-you notes for winter-break interviews. Start calling prime papers	Celebrate! Take the rest of the month off.
Feb.	Still no offers? Stay calm. A few deadlines remain. Phone calls to your prime newspapers could help.	Begin reading the paper regularly. Identify staffers you want to meet. Remember to read paper on-line.
March	Begin trying weekly newspapers Line up free-lance jobs with newspapers or magazines. Volunteer as a journalist with a local non-profit.	Ask for newspaper's stylebook and begin learning it. Get maps and information from the chamber of commerce.
April	Call your prime newspapers to see whether anything opened up unexpectedly.	Arrange for housing. Line up transportation.
May	No internship and out of school? Look for another way to break in. Available for an internship next summer? Free-lance to beef up portfolio.	Try to arrive early to look around community. Arm yourself with a list of story ideas.
June	If you haven't lined up stringing work, set something up by visiting editors at local papers. Experience may be more important than the money.	Request a mentor, or ask someone to mentor you.
July	Talk to papers you plan to apply to for the next summer. Visit, if you can.	Work hard and ask for more. Actively seek feedback, advice.
Aug.	Evaluate your portfolio. Make plans to give it what it needs by working in student publications and freelancing when school resumes.	Ask for a written appraisal. Line up references. Seek advice on your next move.
Sept.	Get your résumé together. Have someone edit it before you send it anywhere. Make sure your portfolio is up to date and tightly edited. Decide where you want to apply, learn the deadlines, meet the application requirements. Begin regular checks for campus interviews and postings at the journalism department and career center.

c/o the Detroit Free Press' JobsPage.