Internship Hunt Tips

You blinked and now you are here – in the spot that seemed so far away and so exciting when you first started school you thought you would never get there. With internship time rolling in at an alarming rate, I thought it might be nice to share some tidbits of advice to keep in your back pocket. You probably have heard a lot of these things from professors or your parents, but I hope coming from someone in your shoes just a couple years ago will allow these messages to resonate a bit more. This is what I did to allow me to obtain internships I deemed successful. And if they don’t work I won’t take credit for any of it.

If you take nothing from the rest of the article but these next few words, here is what I would say to you: Be patient. Put effort into it. Trust that it will work out.

But if you are interested in more here it goes…

My baseline for my internships all started with very specific goals. Setting goals is key in providing a starting point that includes a criteria in what you are looking for, what you should be applying for, etc. With so many internship positions available, knowing what you are looking for is important so you know where to focus your energy. My goals were very specific – to obtain two internships; one in an amateur sporting event and one in communications with a professional sports team. Your goals don’t have to be as specific in scope. What you should be thinking about it what is important to you. Consider whether it is the city, sport, organization, etc. Does the position need to be a paid one or are you willing to be unpaid? Is there a department you want to be in? Narrow your scope, set goals, and decide what’s important.

Next up: Fix that resume and write a knock out cover letter. One thing I underestimated going into the internship hunt was how much time I would spend on my resume and cover letter. It took a couple of tough losses for me to realize I needed to pull up my socks. When I say spend hours working on your resume and cover letter, I am not joking. I spent a lot of time working on the base of the resume and even more time each time I applied for new positions to cater it to the specific role. You should do that too. Ask people for help, beg people for feedback on it, and really put effort into making it fantastic. Beyond parents and friends, I found success by reaching out to professors and current and past managers. One thing I have learned is that resumes are very subjective and what one person tells you to do will be different from the next. Have your resume results oriented and try to filter through advice that is subjective from constructive.

I think that there is no arguing that an online presence is the first thing someone will look at. What I’m about to say may, and hopefully does, sound incredibly thoughtless, but unfortunately I have seen too many cringe-worthy pictures to not mention it. And, I’ve seen it from many people who I know are just entering their professional life. (Wait… am I sub-blogging you right now?) Take an hour to clean up your social media channels and update your LinkedIn. Ensure that your social media channels represent your personal brand effectively and if they don’t – fix it. Change your privacy settings or even your online name. But if you are happy with your social media presence don’t consider the precautions. With LinkedIn being my unhealthy addiction these days, I encourage you to spend an hour fixing up yours. It’s easier to do once you have updated your resume. For the love of god, make sure your picture is professional. I personally don’t find a selfie professional, but I also am not a hiring manager so what do I know? However, what I do know is that it’s incredibly easy to dress up and take a semi-professional looking picture in your bedroom. Obviously I can’t confirm whether that’s what I did for mine…

And then comes the interview process. What a time to be alive! The scale of how much you love or loathe interviews will vary depending on your personality, but regardless you will be very nervous. Nerves are great… when you channel them properly. Doing your research and being prepared is a good way to do so. Once it comes to interviews you will need to research, prepare, research, prepare. Research everything you can about the organization and position. It’s worth researching what there is to know about the hiring manager. Knowing their background is great for making connections and asking questions. LinkedIn makes this so easy. My favourite thing to do to prepare is write out each part of the job description followed by all of the connections I can make to my experience. Don’t forget to have some questions ready to ask them and to send them a thank you once the interview is complete.

And lastly, I cannot stress enough how important following up and asking for feedback is. I had to follow up many times on leads, potential interviews, interviews, post-interviews, rejections and offers before I finally accepted a position. Whatever you do, do not stop following up. And lastly, if and when you receive a rejection email following an interview ask for feedback. It’s going to be really hard to ask for, and probably to read, but we’ve got a lot to learn and asking questions will always be how we do so.

Ultimately, remember that just like everything else in your life, you will you will get out of it, what you put into it. Happy interview hunting – I hope you find a real catch!

 

Sara

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