Last Wednesday, we co-hosted our annual Her Career event with the Career Center. Six amazing panelists, Alex Horvitz, Linda Locey, Nicole Blank, Kristina Grinovitch, Zoe Sobin, and Sally Genster Robling, came to discuss their professions and give us some advice. Here are some key steps that we learned from the panel on finding and getting your dream internship!
1. Take a Career Assessment Test: Focus 2
If you’re not sure exactly where you want to be in the future, or even if you do, assessment tests can really help point you in a direction. Focus 2, an online assessment test, takes into account your personality, interests, skills and values, and helps you discover compatible careers and majors to explore. With the access code “jumbo”, you can start using Focus 2 today!
2. Explore “What Can I Do With This Major?“
Now that you have an idea of which career paths may best suit your personality, find out which majors will lead you to that dream career. “What Can I Do With This Major” even provides you with a list of strategies for entering a given field, as well as some employers hiring in the field.Â
3. Go to the Career Center
It’s never too early to go to the Career Center! Meeting with an advisor is easy and not as intimidating as it sounds. You can schedule 30 minute appointments with an advisor by calling 617-627-3299. During these appointments you can go over anything from choosing a major to finding an internship to doing a mock interview for it.  Go online more information on visiting the Career Center.
4. Get your resume or cover letter critiqued by a Career Fellow
If you don’t think that you need a one-on-one session with a Career Center advisor, you can attend drop-in hours to meet with a career fellow for 15 minutes. Career fellows can be especially helpful for answering questions and critiquing resumes or cover letters. Drop-in hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12pm-3pm, and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1pm-4pm.
5. Explore Jumbo Jobs
If you haven’t checked out Jumbo Jobs yet, do so ASAP! Through Jumbo Jobs, you can find internships and jobs listed by employers, upload a resume for employers to see, and contact employers directly. This resource is also incredibly useful because it has an advanced search option when searching for internships/jobs that allows you to narrow your search by location, field, position type, and more.
6. Network with Alumni
Never underestimate the power of having a good network. Networking can get you anything from advice to an internship to a full time career. Whether you only network with Tufts alumni or branch out to everyone and anyone, make sure that you do networking right. Networking guidance can be found through the Career Center’s website.
7. Attend a Career Fair
Career fairs are a great way to meet employers face to face before being offered an interview. Use this to your advantage! The Career Center coordinates multiple career fairs each year. A spring career fair will be coming up sometime in February, so keep your eyes out!
8. “Build your life, not your resume” -Sally
First and foremost, build your life. Your resume will ultimately come together effortlessly when you focus on developing genuine interests and skills. Go out and get involved in what truly interests you and makes you happy, and things will fall eventually into place.
9. Make a LinkedIn Profile
Having a LinkedIn account is an easy way to network. Through LinkedIn, you can find potential employers, and potential employers can find you. Not to mention LinkedIn can come in handy to see who is doing what, and how they got there.
10. Conduct a Mock Interview at the Career Center
Once you start finding your niche and have a dream internship in mind, go to the Career Center and schedule an appointment with an advisor to rehearse the interview process. Â
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Now that you’re on your way to having your dream internship, make sure that you follow these 5 Ways to Stand Out as an Intern!
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