Job hunting may be one of the most time consuming, stress inducing and hope crushing experiences for a college student.
The summer internship carries a strong weight because it can determine your job acceptances in the following year. For many students this pressure causes them to procrastinate their job search which only makes finding summer jobs more difficult in the end. Here are a few tips that have helped me to search for jobs and cope with all of the emotions that come with it.
Take A Deep Breath and Plan
A job search does not have to be mindlessly sending your application to random companies and living on a prayer. Take the time to organize what you want out of your internship. Do you want to make money? Do you want to gain experience in a certain field? Do you want to work in a specific city? After understanding your personal goals, research companies that meet that criteria. Even if their deadlines have passed, looking at their requirements can help you figure out if you want to apply next year.
Pick Places You Know
If you don’t know where to start your job search, try checking out your favorite websites. Whether or not they have job openings, send them an email anyway. In an interview with the Washington Street Journal, Nick D’Ambrosio, founder of career coaching firm FirstHired, advises his coachees to apply to companies that don’t list job openings. “[A]s career coaches, we know that companies are hiring if a candidate knows how to get in front of them; as recruiters, we know the jobs are open and the companies are hiring. I have one person I am coaching who sent out 12 emails to companies that showed no openings on their Web sites. He was contacted by four and ended up with three interviews.”
Visit the Career Center
The Career Center is a great resource for students who want to pursue fields that Amherst doesn’t offer as majors. These fields include accounting, engineering and finance. The Career Center has personnel that have worked in these specialized fields and would be happy to help you edit your resume and help you right a professional cover letter for those fields. There are also personnel who work with opportunities with the scope of our majors who have additional resources for finding jobs that our professors may not know.
Utilize The Alumni Directory
The alumni network is a great way to contact former students who followed a career path of interest to you. You can search for alumni based on a variety of criteria including their major, current employer and even their extra-curricular activities. In my case, contacting alumni have both given me advice for how to pave my way to my dream career and helped me to get an interview at a top company. *Note: I recommend contacting alumni at the beginning of the year because when applications are closed, their hands are tied.
Consider Other Options
So, you dream job application is closed. While this might be disheartening, it could be a case of one door closing and another one opening. Consider taking an intensive language course at another college like Middlebury or even going abroad through a summer abroad program. You may also consider volunteering in your neighborhood or working for a non-profit. Amherst has summer abroad fellowships and programs that give stipends to students at unpaid interships. These experiences are just as valuable and can help you to get that big-time job offer later on.
Hopefully, these tips can help you with your current job search or your future job search. I want to emphasize that while a summer job is helpful, it is not necessary in order to be successful. Be productive–whether that is going on vacation or taking classes at a local college–do what is best for you!