1. Write a thank-you letter after your interview.
Following an interview, a thank-you note can leave a big impression on your interviewer. Taking the time to write a thank-you letter shows your dedication, your appreciation, and above all, your good manners. The good news is that sitting down and drafting one only takes about five minutes, and you have access to thousands of sources of inspiration for your letter on Google (but please don’t just copy-paste from the first link you find, plagiarism is no-bueno).
2. Apply early.
For summer internships, most large tech companies begin reviewing applications in the fall/ winter, and ideally you want them to review your application before they see the one submitted by the kid who developed a popular app in his basement before he could even talk. The early bird gets the worm!
3. Don’t be selective.
Applying for a tech internship is a lot like arriving to a Chick-Fil-A study break 30 minutes after it started: you take what you can get. Especially if you have no experience / are early in your undergrad career, you should apply to as many internships as you can, because chances are you won’t get 100% of them (if you do, congrats) and you want to have a back-up plan if your top choice does not work out. (And maybe apply again the following summer with your NEW! experience from your internship at company B? Just a thought.)
That being said, don’t be discouraged from applying if you feel you’re “not qualified”…you never know what set of skills or type of person a specific company is looking for.
4. If you don’t get any of your choices, relax. The world isn’t ending.
Trials, trials, trials.
It’s okay if you don’t score a major internship the summer following your first year of college; there is always another day and another year to submit more applications and possibly get that internship you wanted. Speaking from experience, the summer after your first year of college is really not that big of a deal, so don’t stress about it! I didn’t do anything career- oriented that summer, so put on your favorite song, grab some ice cream (or ice cubes, for the vegans) and relax!