Internships have become a cruicial resume staple over the past few years. As if the thought of joining the workforce wasn’t daunting enough, finding an internship can be a huge headache and quite a difficult task if you don’t know where to look. If you’re interested in taking on an internship this semester but you need a little help getting started, check out these tips and spare yourself a ton of stress!
1. Think about what you’re interested in.
When looking for your first internship, you can definitely explore more than just one career field. Think about fields relevant to your major, your minor, your extra curriculars, and even interests you may have but have not had a chance to explore. Internships are a great way to gain experience but it’s an even better way of figuring out what you do and do not like.
2. Utilize your resources.
There are tons of resources on every campus that can help you find your dream internship. Subscribing to your major’s department newsletter is helpful because they often include a section with available internships and jobs. In addition to that, ask your professors if they know of any relevant internships. They may or may know of anynot but it is a good start and they might be able to point you in the right direction. You can also check out your school’s career services website or office. Not only can they definitely help you find something, they can also review your resume, help you write cover letters and get you set up on LinkedIn.
3. Google.
I’m sure we all know by now, there’s really nothing Google can’t do and that includes helping you find an internship. The trick is not to google “marketing internships” because that is way too broad but narrowing the search to “best internship websites”. Find a few internship websites that seem thorough and professional and set up an account that will allow the website to filter internships relevant to you, your field of interest, and your city. Craigslist, although it gets a bad rap (and sometimes rightfully so), can be helpful when looking for an internship because you can filter the results by city and field of interest. With any internet job posting, just make sure you do a little investigating and ensure it is legitimate.
4. Cold Emails.
Lastly, you can cold email any company or professional in your field of interest and ask them for an informational interview. Most won’t respond and some will reject you, but if someone does accept your request it becomes an amazing opportunity. Not only will you have the chance to ask questions about your field of interest (like what it takes to land a job and the day to day functionality of it all), you will gain a professional contact. At the end of the interview, make sure to ask about what kind of internships you should consider and if they have any tips on how to find one. More than likely, they are going to offer you great insider advice and who knows – maybe they even have an opening at their office!