It seems like all anybody is talking about lately is what they’re going to do over the summer. And Mardi Gras, of course, but that’s fun to talk about. Some of my friends have applied to study abroad over the summer, while others plan to work at a café or restaurant in their home towns. My parents are moving across the country in July, so I can’t really rely on them for a place to live and it’s been messing with my summer plans. I don’t really want to go back to my summer camp either, so I’ve been applying for internships. It’s definitely not a fun process, but hopefully it will pay off!
1. Blind optimism
You decide that you are going to get the best internship ever. They’ll pay for your housing and give you a stipend. Everyone will want you because you’re such a great candidate and you’ll probably get a job offer from them when you graduate college.
2. Frustration (pt. 1)
Every search engine that you’ve used has produced about 4 internships that you qualify for, and they’re all unpaid. You wish that you weren’t a freshman whose only work experience was your summer camp and the local YMCA. You envy all of the sophomores and juniors who qualify for your dream internship, only because they’re a year older than you. It’s not your fault you weren’t born a year earlier!
When you fit all the requirements
for an internship except for age.
3. Rock bottom
You cry to your friends, your parents, your professors, your Uber driver– anyone who will listen really– about how you’ll never find an internship. One or two of these people actually listen and talk to a friend, who talks to a friend, who talks to another friend, and recommends something to you.
4. Bittersweet acceptance
You’re not totally happy with your options, but at least you’ve got a few things to apply to. You meet all of the requirements, and they offer a stipend, albeit pretty dismal.
5. Building excitement
As you dive into the applications, you start to get more excited about the internships that you’re applying to. You begin to imagine what the office you’ll work in will look like, what clothes you’ll wear, where you’ll live, etc. Maybe you’ll enjoy wherever you end up.
6. Frustration (pt. 2)
You are sick and tired of writing cover letters, tweaking application questions, fixing your resume, and emailing professors for recommendations and references. You still have all your other things to do (school, friends, trying not to gain the Freshman 15), and you’re ready to submit these stupid applications already.
Honestly, can I be done yet?
7. Relief
You’ve sent in all of your applications and you don’t need to worry about it anymore! You can stop stressing over what makes you a good candidate and what you would learn from an internship. Now you can go enjoy Mardi Gras!
This can be you!