If you’re anything like me, you’ve been in deep denial that school is ending in just a little over a month. It’s beyond me how this year could be ending when it feels like it started just yesterday. With classes winding down and the weather heating up a new thought is lurking in the back of our minds— what am I going to do this summer?
In college, summer shifts from tanning and vacation time to “OMG I have to figure out my life” time— and most likely that means finding a summer internship. But how are you supposed to find the right internship when you don’t even know what you want your career to be? The good news is, you don’t need to know. Internships are supposed to be learning opportunities to help fill that gap; to find out what you might be interested in, and gain some experience to test it out.
It’s hard to start looking for internships when you don’t know what to look for. Below are a few starter tips for finding an internship suited for you!
1. Know your strengths and your interests:
Make a list of what you’re good at, and what you’re interested in. See what you could do in the field of your interest with the skills you have! It’s easier to find an internship you might like when you start with what you’ll be invested in and what you have background knowledge about.
2. Ask around about people’s experiences:
If you’ve never had an internship before, asking others what experiences they’ve had is helpful in visualizing a company you would like to be at or a job you would like to learn about. Ask people about both positive and negative experiences, this will help kickstart your own research into companies you might like to be a part of.
3. Do your research:
Get online and start with something as simple as a google search. Searching internship opportunities in your hometown area or nearby city is a good place to start if you’re planning on living at home, and doing so may point you towards parents or friends you know who’ve had experience at some of those local companies. Once you know what career area you’d like to be in, narrow your search down to internships offering positions in that line of work.
4. Don’t be stingy!
Just because you haven’t heard of a company before doesn’t mean it’s a worthless opportunity. Many smaller companies give interns greater responsibilities and more of a workload to gain experience with. Being thrown in and fully immersed in a company is a huge benefit of working at a smaller place where you’ll be working right alongside respected employees and even bosses.
5. Be a sponge:
Show the company you want to apply for that you will soak up each and every opportunity they give you. Show them that your goal is to learn as much as possible during your few months there, and that you want to impact their company as much as you know they will impact you.