One thing determines whether you're going to have a good internship or not. And that's knowing if the agency has a master plan. If they can't give you a checklist of what they expect you to accomplish this summer, I can guarantee you won't be getting any practical experience. You'll just end up with a (hopefully) respectable name to add to your resume — something you might be able to parlay into an actual job.

If they don't have a master plan, expect crap work all summer, from maintaining the matroom to doing someone else's copy changes, instead of writing your own work. And I still hear of horror stories of interns forced into servitude of making fresh coffee and copies.

I know work is hard to find, so I would be reluctant to say walk away from a bad internship (a paid position might ease some pain). Your best defense is weeding out the bad internship possibilities during the interview by knowing what the job requires and promises upfront.

If agency staff starts to deviate from their master plan by slacking off on the promised experience, then it's your job to get them back on track. It's not their job to babysit you. Ask to shadow other people on various assignments. If work is slow in your department, get permission to work on other accounts in different departments. It's a great way to find a mentor or two.

But the ugly truth is that some internships just derail. They start with the best intentions, giving you plenty of great projects in June. By July, no one knows your name. If it's a paid position, I'd say just ride that derailed train all the way back to school. You'll have a name on your resume and some money in your pockets.

Out of my seven internships, I'd only rank two as less than positive.

One job didn't stick to their master plan.

The other job didn't have a plan at all.

I did it for the money and a name on my resume.