All You Need To Know About Finding an Internship
Wouldn’t it be great if the perfect internship fell right into your lap? Unfortunately, the odds are pretty low of that happening without having to employ some sort of effort/energy. Never fear; LINK is here to assist and provide you with a few strategies to find your dream internship opportunity.
Start Your Internship Search Early
You’d be surprised how early many companies and organizations post for internship opportunities that will have a summer start date. Some companies open their opportunities as early as October and close their application processes in November. Check with your college’s Career Services Center to find out which companies hire early for internships. It’s a good idea to dedicate winter break to applying for opportunities and tapping into your network of resources.
What Kind of Internship Should I Look For?
Internships are a great way to explore your interest as far as potential career paths. If you think you know what you want to do as a career, what better way to test that than to get an internship in that area? Not only will that experience give you valuable insight, but it will also set up your resume for stepping into a job once you get your degree. According to the 2019 Internship & Co-op Survey Report from The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), 70.4% of students get job offers after their internship. NACE also reports that completing an internship within their industry is one of the top attributes employers look for when hiring. It’s even more important to them than your major.
Don’t worry about being too specific, though. If you are interested in Finance, you don’t have to limit yourself to only Finance related internships; think Business or fields where Finance is also utilized. Pull a job description for a company hiring for a finance-related position and look at the requirements and skills. You may be able to gain a skill that will help you land that job of your dreams in Finance by taking an internship in a completely different field that will give you experience in one or more of the skills a Finance person might need, like strong time management skills or strong ethics with the ability to manage confidential information.
If you still aren’t sure what career you would like to pursue, use an internship to narrow down your potential career options. Think about what you enjoy, what you are most passionate about, and how that can parlay into a career. This will give you exposure to career paths you are interested in and help you narrow down what you will ultimately want to do post-college.
It’s Not What You Know; It’s Who You Know
Use your resources to your advantage. Have a conversation with friends, family, college advisors, and career service advisors about your interest and put them on notice that you are looking for an internship opportunity. Alumni resources can also be extremely helpful. You can seek alum from your university currently working in the field you are interested in and email them to conduct informational interviews that might net you insight into career pathways that you weren’t even thinking about. Don’t stop there, though. You can also search on Linked In for individuals in your area who may have had an internship at a company like the opportunity you hope to land. LinkedIn is a great way to connect with past employees or interns of a specific company. Don’t be afraid to send them a message and ask for advice before you apply or even if they would be open to grabbing a cup of coffee with you.
Where The Internships Reside
To find internships, google can be your best friend. Make a list of companies you would like to work for and go to their website to see if they have any opportunities. You can also set a google alert to send you an email anytime an internship is posted online related to the keywords you designate. For example, a keyword could be “advertising internship.”
Here are some other websites that post internship opportunities as well.
