It can often feel like everyone else knows what they’re doing when it comes to internships and work experience while in college, but the truth is, everyone is just as lost and confused as you are. Finding and securing internship positions can be an extremely stressful and taxing process that leads to a multitude of rejections and dead ends that leave you utterly hopeless for ever finding something. The past couple of months, I myself have been preoccupied with this process, and I have experienced a lot of ups and downs throughout my endeavors. However, I also learned a lot from my experience and have developed a quick guide with helpful tips for procuring an internship:
Cast A Wide Net
When looking at roles to apply for, you want to not only target your most desired positions, but you also want to ensure you keep your options open. You never know when an incredible opportunity might present itself, and any experience is good experience. In the competitive world of jobs and internships, it is often hard to find your exact dream role at an entry-level position. Any role that you acquire will help you to grow in your skills and contribute to your resume, so keep that in mind when looking and applying for opportunities.
Research, Research, Research
Obviously you are going to need to do a significant amount of research to find positions in the first place, but you also want to ensure to sufficiently research each individual position. Understanding the company or organization that you are applying for is key to including appropriate materials in your application and sounding knowledgeable in your interview if you reach that stage. You don’t want to be in a position where a potential employer asks you a question about the work of the company that you don’t know how to properly answer.
Customize Your Resume And Cover Letter
Customizing your resume and cover letter for each particular position is an essential aspect of securing a role. Not every position is the same, so not every employer will be looking for the same kinds of skills and experience. Tailoring your resume to the specific skills asked for in a role, even mentioning them by name in your resume and cover letter, will help you to progress further in the application process. Some employers will even use software programs that weed out resumes that don’t mention the skills that they are looking for so this step is very important if you want to secure a position.
Volunteer And Network
Here comes my least favorite step: networking. Unfortunately, networking is often what can best allow you to get internship opportunities because you can directly connect with the people that are offering them. I have found that offering to volunteer or help out at different events that might have a lot of people in the field that you are applying into is an easy way to gain access to these people and stand out against other applicants.
Practice Competency-Based Interviews
A competency-based interview is just a fancy term for interviews where you talk about your skills through situational experiences. Practice and prepare multiple real-life experiences that showcase your skills and accomplishments that could be used to answer a variety of questions. This way, you have multiple stories to draw upon when asked a question, and it will help you to be able to think quickly on your feet during the interview.
Don’t Be Afraid Of Rejection
Lastly, remember not to give up. You will almost certainly face rejection throughout this process, and you can’t let it get to you. Keep applying to opportunities and going to interviews until you find something that fits.
Remember that even the experiences that you get from interviews that go poorly are great practice for the future. Move forward with confidence and determination and you will surely succeed in your goals. Keep all of these steps in mind, and I wish you the best of luck throughout this difficult process!