College Knowledge

Finding a Summer Internship

So its sophomore year and you need to find a summer internship. It seems that all of your friends already have one (dad knew someone at Goldman) and they are chatting about their soon to be summer life in Manhattan. Your resume, on the other hand, is ‘cute’ with high school stints at Don’s Donut Shoppe and Uncle Tony’s plumbing business. Lucky for you, there is a method to finding a killer internship. It just takes some creativity and patience. First, decide where (city, state) you would like to intern for the summer. This, of course, largely depends on your financial situation so let’s analyze the scenarios further. If your parents are nice enough to pay for your summer rent while you intern, then contemplate spending the summer in Manhattan, DC, San Francisco, or even another country altogether. If your parents cannot/will not pay for your summer rent, then you need to be more creative about making ends meet: * If you’re college is located in a major city, look into living on campus for the summer—most colleges will give you free housing if you work 15-20 hours for the Office of Student Housing. * Pick up a server/bartending job 3, 4, or 5 nights a week. Not only will you meet 20 instant new friends, but you will make about $20.00- $30.00 per hour. This should cover your rent and spending money. I personally recommend the service industry over retail because retail stores rarely pay over $10.00 per hour. * If your internship is unpaid, ask to work 25 or 30 hours per week instead of 40. If they ask why, tell them you are working a second job (a real one with real money) to pay for their ever-so-gracious unpaid opportunity. That should shut them up. * Some unpaid internships offer a living stipend. These are extremely rare but if you look early and have a stellar GPA, you will better your chances of getting one. Once you have decided where you would like to intern, or narrowed the choices down to a few cities, start your internship search. * Use sites like www.CollegeKnowItAll.com , www.Craigslist.com , www.Indeed.com , www.SimplyHired.com , or www.BarefootStudent.com to search for internships. * Take advantage of your college’s career services. Some colleges even have their own job board for current students and recent alumni. * If you are looking into going abroad, check out www.internabroad.com. * Attend local alumni networking events; you never know who you may meet. * Take advantage of guest speakers and adjunct professors on campus – they are usually tapped into the “real world” more so than tenured professors. * Check out company websites for corporations in the Inc. 500, sometimes their internship programs are exclusively listed here. * If there is a specific company you are dying to intern for, send them an e-mail. Most companies are more than happy to develop an internship program (especially if it’s free labor!). Once you are ready to apply for an internship, send your resume, cover letter, and references to the appropriate person. Be sure to follow these tips: * Always send a cover letter. And always tailor the cover letter. Don’t restate your resume in a cover letter but instead, expound upon specific qualities or character traits that would be a great fit with the Company. * Ask your references beforehand if they mind being contacted and be sure to give them a heads up to whichever places you have applied. A prepared reference is a good reference. * Be punctual and eager in your initial interview. Do your research about the company but avoid acting like you know everything. Internships are a learning experience and the key to landing a good job after school. * Do not ask to be paid if the internship stated it is unpaid. And do not ask for more per hour if it is a paid internship. Interns are in great supply so do not act like you are in great demand. * Do ask if there is a travel stipend, perhaps a subway/metro card or free lunch in the cafeteria. Often times these are perks at unpaid internships and if you do not ask about them, HR will ‘forget’ to tell you they exist. And, this may be a deciding factor between two unpaid internships. It may seem daunting at first, but you should have no problem finding an internship. Just remember, it will not be glamorous. You will not be closing acquisitions for Google, writing a bill for Congress, or designing dresses for Angelina Jolie. But, like everything in life, internships are what you make of them. Be sure to meet as many people as you can because the old adage is true: “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”