Applying for internships can be scary. There may always be the fear of rejection or that you don’t feel qualified enough. Getting into the real world of having a career may seem far off, but getting an internship can help ease your way into the career path of your choice. Here are a few steps to getting the internship you want and deserve.
STEP 1: GET RELEVANT EXPERIENCE.
This does not mean already having a previous internship, but maybe join a club that pertains to your career path, find a part-time job that gives you some hands-on experience or find experience elsewhere. For example, if you want to go into radio broadcasting, call your local radio station and see if they will let you come in for a day to shadow a professional. All of these things will give you insight into the industry you wish to be in and will help you along your path to finding what area of work you want to get into.
STEP 2: BULK UP YOUR RESUME.
Resumes can be an intimidating thing to get focused in on and make sure they are highlighting your qualifications to their full extent. First, write down every experience that is work related, school related, or extra-curricular related into a list format. Briefly describe each job or activity you participated in and then build a rough draft. Your first draft of your resume does not need to be perfect, it just needs to have the information you need. Next, go to the resume clinics that they offer in the Student Union a few times a week. The people working the resume clinic contact table are professionals and will help you rewrite your resume, while also telling you what to keep and what you would be better off without.
STEP 3: SEARCH FOR INTERNSHIPS.
Get on websites like Indeed.com, Experience.com or Internship.com and see what interests you! These websites store your information, making it easy to apply to multiple internships in one sitting and help you to narrow down your results with their search filters. Apply to as many as you can, because it is better for you to be rejecting a company than for them to be rejecting you.
STEP 4: PRACTICE INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES.
Have your roommates, friends, parents and siblings all test out interview questions on you. Having some practice with interviewing can make the whole process less stressful and you can be prepared for questions that may pop up that you would otherwise have not thought out. Every question that an interviewer may ask you won’t be mentioned while you are practicing, but it is good to have some experience with thinking on your toes and guiding your answers to highlight your qualifications.
STEP 5: FOLLOW UP.
Once you get an interview with a company, make sure to follow up with them within the week. Shoot an email or a personal note to the person who interviewed you telling them how great it was to meet them and thanking them for the opportunity. Persistence is not seen as annoying when looking for an internship—it is seen as excited and driven to get the position. The company will be more likely to notice you if you begin to make yourself known.
Though the idea of growing up can be daunting, taking the process step-by-step can make the process of finding experience in an internship a whole lot easier! Don’t put it off—now is the time to start applying!