What are the best internships available to gain experience in leading a team?

Leading a team as an intern is a tall order in most companies as even in small start ups, experience is a valuable component of leadership. That said, there are two areas I could suggest. Look for companies with larger intern programs where you may be able to stand out among your peers and drive an intern based initiative.

Additionally, with an interest in leading teams, I would do some digging on the culture and leadership styles of companies. Look for internships at companies where people feel empowered and are given responsibilities based on performance vs. just seniority. This may afford you an opportunity.

Also, when learning to lead, remember to pay attention to a lot of different styles and interactions. There is no right or wrong way as different situations, teams, etc. require different approaches and sometimes you often learn more from mistakes than success.

Hi,
Great question and good job and it is impressive that you are focused and know what you want already.
I found this website that I thought I would share with you in case you have not seen it...I would suggest checking with all the major US companies and researching their websites for internship opportunities and going to your college/school career center as well.

http://www.internships.com/

Good luck!

Honestly the best experience for leading a team is a combination of (1) being on a team with a good leader so you can learn how to follow, and how to collaborate, and you can observe; and (2) be in a role where you have some responsibility for delivering an outcome that requires you to depend on the effort of others. At the intern level they won't report to you formally, but even if it is a small thing, you will learn how to ask for help, how to keep track of time and determine whether you got what you needed, and you will learn what it is to motivate others.

Great question! I started in advertising as an intern and it helped my career significantly. The best place to go would be past companies that you've interned with. Because they know your skills and capabilities, they'll be the easiest to pitch on taking a leadership role. If that isn't an option, find companies who employ interns in tasks that you've previously worked on and approach them about helping them lead those interns. I managed interns in my first salaried job in marketing and can think of six tasks that I regularly had to manage from our intern teams. The company spent $26.00 per hour for my work, so if they could have had someone manage the interns for $10 to $12 per hour, they would have saved a lot of money. The only catch is you have to be very knowledgeable about the thing you're managing. Interns came to me to quickly learn how to do their jobs, so having that knowledge is essential.

If none of that works, find groups on campus where you can take a marketing leadership role. Clubs and campus groups usually have budgets, and even if your budgets are small, you only need to show future employers that you managed the budget and the work. I am now in a role where I interview people who will work with me and I would enthusiastically interview someone who managed a $1000 facebook ad budget and managed two collaborators while promoting a campus group or event. Remember, when it comes to interviewing for jobs after college, you only need to show some potential and a little bit of experience. Hiring managers assume that college grads will have limited knowledge. But if you have shown an interest and have invested your time to educate yourself, you're giving hiring managers an indication that they should invest their time in you. Self-directed education is the #1 thing I look for when hiring people. Effort and enthusiasm count for way more than experience and skill. I can teach skill. I can't teach enthusiasm.