By Don Cornwell, Internship Coordinator, Emory UniversityAs the process of applying for and securing internships has grown increasingly competitive, many students are approaching the internship application process with trepidation. The first step in determining if you are ready to compete for an internship is to develop a clear sense of your career interests. You need to evaluate yourself to determine your needs. Clarify exactly what you want from an Internship experience: Specific skills and knowledge? Contacts? Exposure to a specific industry? Or a particular company? General work experiences? Once you have successfully clarified your motivation, the next step in the process is to identify companies or organizations that can provide the opportunities that best fit your needs. Here are several steps that may help you get started.
Be Prepared: Aside from knowing why you want the internship, you will have to be able to identify what you have to offer a potential internship host. Knowing your personality, interests, skills, and abilities and being able to articulate your vision of how you will be an asset to their organization are critical. Knowing the answers to these questions will improve your focus and your candidacy. Other factors to consider in your preparation include examining how much time and energy you are able to spend on an internship experience, as well as how you will balance your time around an academic schedule and other extracurricular activities. You should also identify other logistical issues (transportation, housing, etc.) that may affect your availability.
Got Skills? Each employer has different criteria for evaluating candidates. Although application procedures vary from employer to employer, most will expect you to have some basic job search skills. If you haven’t developed these it might be wise for you to make an appointment to see a career counselor or attend workshop(s) or seminar(s) offered by your Career Center. Areas to focus on include resume development, cover letter writing, telephone and/or personal interviewing, networking, and understanding the application process. Developing and practicing these skills now will help prepare you for when it’s time to begin your full time job search.
Be Flexible: Ideally, the goal is to find an experience that is, “career related”, meaning the experience should closely match your overall career goals. This is not always possible, however. Many factors can dictate what opportunities are available: geographic location, time of year, nature of the industry and the needs of the employer, just to name a few. So, identify some alternatives that can still provide a valuable learning opportunity, either to further enhance your existing skills or to develop new “transferable skills”. These transferable skills would be those work related skills you gain in one setting and can bring (or “transfer”) to a future employment situation.
Do Your Homework: Research the industry trends, organization, and duties or requirements of the internship before applying. Query companies and organizations where you would like to intern and ask for literature or contact names of previous interns. Surf the web and check out individual home pages and industry sites. Conduct informational interviews or job shadow with people who work in role(s) and environment(s) where you would like to gain exposure. With all the research options now available, there is no good reason to show up uninformed and unprepared for an interview.
Opportunity Knocks: It’s unlikely that an internship will just fall into your lap. You’re going to have to develop a strategy for identifying where internship opportunities exist. Some of the most effective ways to identify potential leads are: Surfing the web - Search career related web sites like Campus Career Center.com or check organizations web pages for internship programs. Word of mouth - Talk with faculty, friends, family even alumni and make them aware of what you are interested in doing. Often you can unearth opportunities that aren’t officially advertised and you will begin to identify and establish a network of contacts before you graduate. Initiate your own - Approach an employer with a proposal indicating your value and the benefit of creating an internship opportunity for you. Most of all be creative in your efforts and exhaust all possibilities.
Start Early: An internship search can often take as much time as a job search so start early. Begin your search at least 3 to 4 months before your desired start date. Keep in mind that summer internships are usually the most plentiful, but so is the students who seek them out, often making these the most competitive.
Final Thoughts: Internships don’t have to be related to your major, can help in getting your foot in the door and can take place anytime during your academic career. Although many experiential education experiences provide either monetary and/or academic rewards, the real pay off is in the preparation they provide for your future. So, go the extra mile – be prepared to fulfill the organization expectations while volunteering for additional assignments and get the broadest range of experience possible. Good Luck!
About the Author:
Don Cornwell is a Career Consultant and the Internship Coordinator at
Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He has a Master of Education
degree in Student Personnel Services with a concentration in counseling
from the University of South Carolina and is an active member of The
Southeastern Association of Colleges and Employers (SACE). He is past
chair of the internship committee for the Georgia Association of
Colleges and Employers (GACE).
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