It’s not too late! If you’re still looking for a last-minute fall internship to squeeze on your resume, look no further. Businesses are always looking for volunteers, especially if it’s an unpaid position. This isn’t exactly the ideal scenario for a broke college student, but the experience is priceless. There are all kinds of resources available to you to find the perfect (or not so perfect) internship of your dreams. Here are 6 of them:
1. Eagle Opportunities.
Eagle Opportunities is available to any UW-La Crosse student and alumni. It provides information and access to internships, entry-level and full-time jobs, part-time jobs, career fairs, informational sessions and more. Many businesses will post on this website looking for UWL interns and employees. The great feature about Eagle Opportunities is that you can search for positions in relation to your major or field of interest. You can also narrow your searches to paid or unpaid positions. This is a great place to start, because these employers are reaching out to you!
2. Career Services.
If you couldn’t find what you were looking for on Eagle Opportunities, or you aren’t sure where to start, Career Services also provides a lot of help and insight on internships. The UWL Career Services website provides a dropdown menu broken down into many career field categories and subcategories with a list of internship resources, both local and regional. Got a knack for Print Media? There’s a list of available Print Media intern resources for that! How about Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies? You better believe there’s a resource for that too.
Career Services is located in 1140 Centennial Hall if you want to dig even a little bit deeper! Here you can talk to a faculty member to help you land your fall internship.
3. Google/Job sites.
You can Google anything these days, including local internships. Simply search “La Crosse, Wisconsin internships” and you are bound to find something, even if it isn’t your dream internship. Search for positions on Indeed.com, Glassdoor.com and Simplyhired.com.
4. Have a certain company in mind?
If you have a certain company in mind that you so desperately want to work for and know you would just totally excel in, contact them directly! Look on the company’s website for internship opportunities. If you don’t find any, reach out to them to talk about working out an internship position with them. Especially if you are willing to work free of charge, they would be senseless to turn you down! Besides, they will admire your gumption and interest to pursue them!
5. LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is the future of job search. This site has all kinds of tools to search for your fall internship. You can also use this to connect with local businesses. If you have connections with any companies already, you can use this to your advantage. Networking is opportune when it comes to finding jobs and internships!
6. Friends, Faculty and Family.
It’s all about the people you know. We’ve said it and you’ve heard it time and time again–connections are crucial, and if you’ve got ‘em, use ‘em! Ask around about internship opportunities. Talk with your professors and classmates. You may know someone who had a summer internship with a company. Using them as a reference to takeover their position with the company for the fall semester can be a major help!
Remember, you can’t put a price on internships. They are fantastic experience and resume builders. Whether or not you get money or school credit for one is irrelevant. So, that being said, it’s never too late to get your foot in the door! Use your resources and take initiative!