Whether you know exactly what you want to do after graduation or not, one of the most productive ways you can spend your summer is interning. You can try your hand at a 10 hours per week gig or spend 12 weeks full-time diving in headfirst at a company, but either way, the professional experience and contacts you’ll gain will be priceless (even if the internship doesn’t exactly, well, pay).
Ready to find your dream internship? We’ve handpicked 10 awesome openings throughout the country to check out—and apply for!—this week. No coffee runs here—these opportunities are chock full of hands-on experience and great resume boosters. (Oh, and need to brush up on your job search basics? Get your resume recruiter-ready, write a killer cover letter, and learn how to ace every interview.)
1. Communications Intern: (RED)
New York
If you’re passionate about global health and want to learn more about PR and media relations, this position is perfect! As the (RED) Communications Intern, you’ll assist with press and media relations, conduct research on advocacy organizations, and assist with special events planning.
You Should Be: At least sophomore status with at least a 3.0 GPA; skilled at PowerPoint, Word, and Excel; and an awesome writer.
2. Product Design Intern: Facebook
Silicon Valley
Here’s your chance to get in with Facebook! Everyone’s favorite social network is looking for a talented intern to help its small team of designers create inspired online products. You’ll take broad, conceptual ideas and turn them into something useful and valuable for Facebook’s more than one billion users.
You Should Have: A portfolio of interaction design work, some experience with front end programming, and an ability to think about product strategy from a high level.
3. Business Analyst Intern: McKinsey & Company
Multiple U.S. Locations
Want to learn what it’s like to be a consultant? With McKinsey’s internship programs, you’ll get to dive right in, working alongside small teams to help clients solve the business problems facing them.
You Should Be: Finishing college by the end of 2014 and interested in a career path in management consulting.
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4. Content & Editorial Internship: Birchbox
New York
Want to learn more about the beauty industry? Here’s the perfect opportunity with an internship at Birchbox! This is a chance for you to do meaningful work and actually make an impact to the bottom line of a growing start-up, all while honing your editorial prowess.
You Should Have: Strong writing and research skills; Photoshop, CMS, and blogging experience is a big plus!
5. Summer Research Assistant: GlobalGiving
Washington, DC
Are you passionate about social entrepreneurship and international development? GlobalGiving connects social entrepreneurs and grassroots organizations with people who want to support social impact.
Currently, GlobalGiving is trying to fix the broken feedback loops in international development. Your mission—should you accept it—is to design and manage experiments to learn what feedback mechanisms do work, where or why they work, and how they could work better.
The Details: To apply, send in your resume and a short essay on one example of a service that affects the poor in a developing country and describe how you would design an experiment to study how feedback affects the outcomes.
6. Direct Marketing & Business Development Intern: HowAboutWe
New York
Innovative online dating site HowAboutWe is looking for an energetic intern to work with its marketing team. You’ll help analyze current user acquisition and business development strategies and help identify new opportunities for growth.
You Should Be: Detail-oriented, familiar with statistics, and an Excel whiz. Oh, and excited to help to build a company that transforms the way people find love.
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7. Product Manager—Summer Intern: Yelp
San Francisco
Yelp loves its interns and is looking to add a Product Manager Intern to its team. In this role, you’ll design elegant interfaces for the Yelp app, help manage the design and release process from end to end, and more!
You Should Have: Design chops, techie cred, and a passion for social networking.
8. Sports Analyst Intern: SeatGeek
New York
Love sports and entertainment but aren’t sure how to make a career out of it? SeatGeek is looking for someone who loves digging into data and unearthing interesting insights about the secondary ticket marketplace. In addition to a knack for numbers, you should have strong writing abilities—you’ll write about your findings and distribute them through both internal and external media channels.
You Should Have: Previous writing experience (e.g., blogging or school newspapers), a comfort with numbers, and an excitement to work for a fast-paced start-up.
9. Founder’s Apprentice: Artsicle
New York
Want to start a company one day? In this internship, you’ll work side by side with Artsicle’s CEO on all aspects of running a business, from the fun stuff, like developing the company’s next big release and marketing plans, to, well, the less fun stuff, like putting together accounting reports and taking out the trash. Get ready to meet with customers, artists, investors, and potential hires—all on an average Tuesday.
You Should Have: A “get things done” attitude, no fear of failure, the ability to juggle multiple priorities and make quick decisions, and a comfort level with Excel and Google Analytics.
10. Accounting Internship: SendGrid
Boulder, CO
Want to try out a career in accounting? Join enterprise email start-up SendGrid, where you’ll assist with accounts receivable and payable, audits, and data entry, as well as become an expert in expense report software.
You Should Have: Insane organization skills, experience with Excel, and solid people skills—you’ll be assisting with training employees and running meetings.