For many students and recent college graduates, an internship is the first step in advancing in your chosen career. Internships provide valuable experience that can help workers become more knowledgeable in their field and land the job of their dreams. Internships may have paid or unpaid part time or full time job hours and some companies offer these positions exclusively for students or recent graduates. Additionally, some businesses provide summer internship programs to college and high school students.
In some cases, these work opportunities are temporary, while others may lead to full time employment. If you’re interested in gaining experience through an internship, these nine great tips can help you find opportunities and stand out among other applicants.
If you’re still in college or you’re about to attend school, you may already be thinking about your career goals. Learning the type of profession you may be interested is essential to earning necessary degrees and gaining meaningful experience through an internship program. Write out a list of what you’re looking for in a career.
Do you want to pursue a career in an industry you love? Are you searching for a profession that pays well or offers flexible hours? Do you want to travel for work? These are all things you should consider when planning out your career goals. After plotting out your career goals, use that information to find a part time or full time internship that will help you advance in your chosen field. For example, if you’re interested in working in advertisement or marketing, marketing internships can provide valuable experience for several career paths. Similarly, accounting internships can help you on your way to a career in finance.
An internship can be like a full time job. You’ll have a set amount of hours to work and, usually, you’ll have a fixed schedule. That means you’ll need the availability to support the job. Considering your availability can be especially important if you are a student. If you are a student, you’ll want to schedule classes so that you have free days in your schedule or regular open availability during traditional working hours. Not only will employers appreciate your flexibility, but it may be what lands you an internship over another candidate that was lacking the same availability.
The earlier you start looking for an internship, the better. Internship programs, especially summer internship opportunities, can fill quickly. Not only should you start your search early, but you should prepare for the role as best as you can, including learning where to look for an internship, how to build your resume and cover letter, and how to ace your interview.
There are many ways to find a full time internship. Knowing where to look will not only increase your likelihood of being offered an internship, but cut down on the time it takes you to find one. If you’re a student, it’s worth taking the time to contact your college’s career development center or student advisor to learn more about any opportunities reported to the school.
Additionally, you can find an internship in the same ways that you would find full time employment. Visit your local career fairs and get online to find internship opportunities on job boards like Indeed, Glassdoor, Monster, and ZipRecruiter. Online job boards are a fantastic way to connect with employers seeing interns and internship posting generally provides a wealth of information about the position, including whether or not it’s paid, qualifications you must have, and other important details.
Resumes are the best way to showcase your background, education, experience, and skills to potential employers, but they’re also essential to gaining an internship. If you are a student or new to your field, you may not have a lot of experience related to that field, but that’s to be expected. When writing your resume, use best practices like using statistics or data wherever possible, list your accomplishments and meaningful extracurricular activities, emphasize your skills, and keep your resume concise and easy-to-read.
In addition to creating a resume, you’ll need to craft a resume. It’s important that you create a resume for each internship that you apply for. Generic cover letters are more likely to be skimmed over, and you may not get an offer.
Depending on the industry you’d like to work on, you may need to build an online profile that you can provide to employers when applying for an internship program. Online profiles are most commonly used in creative fields, such as graphic design, writing, and web development. Having an online profile that contains your best work provides companies with an example of the work they can expect from you. When creating an online profile, you can use many different platforms, such as Wix or Squarespace.
Similarly to when you apply for full time employment, it’s important to reach out to recruiters that you haven’t heard back from. In some cases, not hearing back is a sign that an internship position has already been full. However, recruiters often have to go through dozens or hundreds of applications, so they may not have gotten through the list yet. Reaching out to recruiters shows initiative, and may help get your resume back on the recruiter’s desk.
Preparing for your internship interview is the next step in securing your internship. Before your interview, take the time to learn more about the company that’s interviewing you. Knowing more about the company, including the services and products that they offer, will help you appear more knowledgeable and interested in the position. You can also research common interview questions for your industry to help you better prepare for the questions that you might be asked during the interview. Finally, try to give specific answers to interview questions, remain enthusiastic and optimistic, and be yourself.
After landing an internship, it’s important to do your best in your new role. Treat it like a job and get to know your coworkers and management team. Sometimes, internships can become full time employment opportunities, especially when companies invest in students through internship programs. Gaining employment through an internship lets you start advancing in your career sooner and spend less time unemployed after completing college.