The weather’s warming up, but it’s not too late to organize a summer internship. A summer internship can provide valuable workplace experience and access to industry professionals who may become great contacts in the future. So don’t delay a minute longer. The clock’s ticking, but these tips will help you find the right internship opportunity before summer arrives.
Approach Small Businesses
Small businesses tend to have less-formal internship programs, so there are often no deadlines. You’re also likely to have less competition, as students who already have their internship places often target household names.
What these eager beavers don’t realize is that small firms often provide a richer internship experience. They don’t have the same hierarchy you’ll find in big firms, so you’ll be able to interact with the C-suite and probably enjoy more responsibility and hands-on experience.
Traditional local businesses are a good start, but start-ups and non-profits may also consider taking you on for an internship.
Use Your Network
Studies show four out of five jobs are found through networking. You might think you don’t have a network yet, but you have more contacts than you realize. Your family members, your friends, your parents’ friends, your professors, your boss at your part-time job, and anyone else you know are part of your network. Talk online and offline about your desire to find a summer internship and ask whether anyone knows of any great opportunities. You might be surprised what this process unearths!
Search Through Internship Websites
We’ve all heard spending time online searching for a job isn’t the best way to find paid employment, but internships work a little differently. Many companies love the convenience of fielding applicants online, so checking out what’s advertised on reputable internship sites makes sense.
Internships.com and Internmatch.com are just a couple of the excellent internship sites online. If you’d love to give back and work for a non-profit, try Idealist.org. And if you can afford to pay for the experience of interning overseas, Global Experiences is a great resource.
Create a Resume to Impress
It can be disappointing to discover recruiters typically spend just six seconds looking over a resume. Which is why your resume needs to make the right impression within that short time frame, or it’ll end up in the trash.
You want your resume to pop, so use subheadings to make it scannable and see whether you can cull the information you present. You might be proud of winning the sophomore science fair, but a prospective employer’s likely to be less impressed. Consider the type of internship you’re seeking and tailor your resume to highlight the skills and experience you’ll need. For example, if you want to intern at a design firm, show off your design talents and create a resume with real flair.
If your school has a career center, the staff there can give you tips on how to improve your resume. This might give yours the extra polish it needs to help you land that last-minute internship.
Now that you know the tips, don’t waste a moment more. Start putting this advice into practice for your best chance of securing an internship before summer.
Like this post? Check out our Summer Internships Infographic!
