When I was in college, I wanted a summer internship in New York City, specifically at one company: Tarte Cosmetics. My mom sent me a video of Tarte’s founder and CEO, Maureen Kelly, calling on college students to apply to their summer internship program, and it sparked my interest.
I’ve been posting videos on social media in both the beauty and comedy niches for years, but I thought I’d left that behind when I started college at Chapman University to pursue a more ‘serious’ career. I was double majoring in economics and public relations and figured Tarte would be a fun way to spend the summer after my sophomore year before turning to a more traditional business or finance path.
I had one problem — I had no connections to Tarte, no family in the beauty industry, and no obvious way to stand out among thousands of applicants. In today’s job market, especially for a sought-after position in beauty, it felt more likely I’d get struck by lightning than land an offer.
When I submitted my application in January 2024, I knew I barely had a shot.
This is where most applicants stop
They repeat the process with hundreds of applications, hoping to win the lottery of landing an interview and, ultimately, an offer.
I’m from Nebraska and attended school in Southern California. To be frank, going home for the summer was not an option. I didn’t want to trade my glamorous coastal lifestyle for corn and county fairs. I couldn’t rely on pure luck to be selected for an interview. I knew that if I could get in front of them, they would see how perfect I was for the role.
I decided to make a video
Since posting videos felt natural to me, I figured, what better way to show that I’m qualified for a marketing job at Tarte than by successfully marketing myself to Tarte. I decided to make something fun and entertaining. Inspired by the iconic Harvard admissions video from Legally Blonde, I created an “Elle Woods-style” application video.
I showed Tarte that I was passionate about working for them, willing to put myself out there, and could actually do the job that I was applying for. I admit, it felt a little ridiculous. I knew that all my friends would see it, and that there was a good chance it wouldn’t work out the way I intended, but it was worth a try.
The video got the attention of Maureen Kelly
I woke up one morning in January 2024 to a notification that made me check whether I was still dreaming: a comment from Maureen Kelly on my post. It was a simple ‘I 👀 u! OBSESSED,’ followed by an email from Tarte’s HR team saying they enjoyed my video and wanted to schedule an interview.
From there, I landed a paid internship with Tarte Cosmetics on their social media team. I moved to New York and worked at Tarte for three months. What started as a creative experiment became my entry point into the beauty industry.
The following winter, they offered me the chance to return for the summer of 2025. Despite my initial thoughts that my summer at Tarte would be a one-off adventure, I accepted their offer. It felt like I had found a career that combined my interests in comedy, public relations, and storytelling.
The experience also challenged some assumptions I had about internships
I expected to spend my summers doing small administrative tasks. Instead, I found myself contributing to campaigns with household-name brands and learning from the professionals who had built Tarte. I was particularly struck by Maureen Kelly, who took my ideas as seriously as she did her VPs’ and shared her personal advice and can-do attitude with me regularly.
This spring, as I prepared to graduate, I received a full-time offer from Tarte without having to apply again. I officially started my full-time role with Tarte in June.
In college, much of the career advice my classmates and I were given emphasized professionalism and networking, but when employees at your favorite company are getting dozens of ‘coffee chat’ messages each week from people like you, that advice becomes outdated. Sometimes the best career move isn’t sending another application; it’s doing something creative with the skills you already have.
For most people, the idea of posting a video to get a summer internship feels embarrassing
To be honest, it was embarrassing. Putting yourself out there always carries that risk, but sometimes that discomfort is the price of trying something others might not.
Even if it doesn’t work out, don’t let it reflect on you. I find it best to maintain the mentality that they would be lucky to have you, and frankly, what a disappointment it is that they didn’t get you.
Most importantly, I must acknowledge that all of this advice is coming from someone who has the job and got the internship. Yes, I was strategic, and I give myself credit for that, but I was also lucky.
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