With the Spring semester in full swing and summer coming around the corner before we know it, I thought it well to share how I went about searching for, obtaining, and gaining credits for an internship! The process is actually fairly easy but can seem extremely daunting at first so I have included some easy steps and insights to calm your nerves.
Starting Off:
The best thing to do if you aren’t sure where to start looking for an internship is to define a couple of important attributes first. The main ones being, what are your career and educational interests, and where would you like to be located for an internship. For me, I knew I wanted one relating to my major (International Business and Marketing), and that I wanted one near my university (in Tampa, FL). You can also consider whether or not you want a part or full-time internship, and whether or not you want to be paid or unpaid. This helped me narrow them down before I even started looking.
Going through the Internship Process:
UT has a great step by step process for obtaining an internship, which can be done through the career services center, but there are a couple of places to look for them. The main two I found success on were Handshake and LinkedIn. Once you find one you are interested in, you can apply for them right on the platforms by attaching your resume and anything else the employer requires!
Actually Getting an Internship:
Once you’ve applied, you will eventually start to hear back from companies and begin interviews and meeting processes. Once you hopefully get some offers you can accept and then move onto getting your internship approved for credits if you need to/would like to! That is a fairly simple process where you register your internship experience on Handshake and get it accepted by the Career Services Office.
Where I am for my Internship:
I ended up being offered and accepting an internship with Travel Mexcursions LLC. Travel Mexcursions ( https://www.travelmexcursions.com ) is a travel company that offers different types of vacation and travel packages to Cancun, Mexico. They have only been around for about a year now, but have started to take off more recently, towards the end of 2018 and now into early 2019. Their mission is to provide a unique and unforgettable experience of Mexico to their customers, at an affordable price point. This way, the customer gets the best of both worlds, a luxurious and interesting trip, and a wallet that has not been fully emptied.
They are a start-up company that came out of the University of Tampa Entrepreneurship center, which is really nice since I am still currently a full-time student at UT. Under my official position name as sales and marketing intern, most of my assignments and work fall within to those two categories, however, I really get to encompass a wide range of tasks, duties, and experiences.
Figuring out how to balance being a full-time student, have a part-time job, be involved in on and off campus organizations, and maintain an internship has not been easy, but has been extremely rewarding. I can’t wait to see where this kind of journey takes me as I move onto my career path!