SPRING INTO ACTION
No internship yet? Time is of the essence to find a great opportunity
S TILL fishing for a summer internship? Don’t panic— it’s not too late to reel in a real- world work experience. While most Fortune 500 companies secured interns months ago, start- ups and midsized companies with less than 500 employees are still posting daily, says Lauren Berger, CEO and founder of InternQueen.com, an online internship search and content platform. Currently, her internship job board has roughly75 companies looking.
If you’ve already applied for internships but have come up dry, stop and assess common missteps.
“Often, students don’t cast a wide- enough net. Along with bigger- name companies, apply to smaller ones,” says Berger.
Don’t disregard unpaid internships either, she says.
“Perhaps you could negotiate to work part- time and take on a paid job the other days.”
Ask friends and family— they might be able to help, says Berger.
A common mistake is a lack of follow- through, says Thomas J. Ward Jr., executive director of the Adelphi University Center for Career Development.
“Students apply online and don’t followup. It’s imperative to get the contact name and followup with that organization,” says Ward Jr., whose department offers a one credit internship- prep course.
“There’s a fair amount of detective skills that go into the search,” adds Ward Jr. “The students who research target companies and tailor their résumés specifically for each internship are at a higher advantage.”
Maintaining an active, robust LinkedIn profile is important, too.
Beyond internship job boards, the student- employer connection process is also fueled through live events, says Gary Alan Miller, executive director of the career center at Hofstra University.
“At this point in the year, students are wise to network offline as much as possible. Students should spend 50 percent of their time locating opportunities electronically and 50 percent trying to connect with people through alumni, through faculty and other natural networks,” says Miller.
If you’ve hit a panic point in your internship hunt, connect immediately with your college career center. “We try to determine where the process is breaking down,” says Miller.
City College of New York has about 200 internship postings advertised on its job board, according to Katie Nailler, the director of CUNY’s career and professional development institute.
Nailler’s office will host numerous employers who are seeking interns on campus this month, so she advises students to get their résumés in stellar shape.
“Use key skills fromjob descriptions and include significant projects you’ve worked on in class or off. Give yourself credit for things you are doing, including your GPA,” says Nailler.
At New York University’s Wasserman Center for Career Development, “We have over 7,800 live jobs right now,” says Diana Gruverman, senior director of the center. “We also host career fairs throughout the year.”
Since networking is so critical, Gruverman’s team has students develop a 90- second professional pitch. “You never who you’ll run into at Starbucks,” she says.