Beginning the Internship Hunt

As January draws to a close and February begins, Brandeis students should begin to think about their summer 2016 prospects. Many are now finding themselves in the thick of internship application season. While some deadlines are still far off, depending on which field you’re looking at, you should still be meticulous and productive in your application process. Here is a guide that will hopefully be helpful for your internship hunt.

Make an initial list

If you haven’t done this already, it is past due time that you scour the internet looking for internships for this summer in your desired fields. Be specific when looking for positions; make sure the options you find are in the right city and location, have the appropriate work and education level requirements, and don’t start before Brandeis lets out for the summer. As you go along, make note of deadlines for each application so it is clear which ones need to be completed first, as well as your interest level for each one.

Resume and Cover Letter

Making sure a resume is in order is usually a matter of simply updating it with work, internship, or other experience since the last time you submitted it. If you have other relevant information that you usually like to add, like your GPA, don’t forget to update that as well. Brandeis also has the Hiatt Career Center, a great resource where students can show their resumes to Hiatt employees who will help and strengthen them.

Cover letters can be slightly trickier, but are just as essential to securing a desired internship or work position. Brandeis’ website has a useful guide for writing cover letters here (https://brandeis.edu/hiatt/howto/coverletter/). If you are applying for similar positions in the same field, your cover letter should not need to vary greatly in between applications. Of course each one should have relevant information to the specific position you are applying for, but this can be accomplished without much alteration to the cover letter template.

Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are often required for internship and job applications: sometimes one, sometimes multiple. The best policy for getting these in on time to each application is to ask professors and work contacts early on. Actually, you should do it right now. This urgency is important because not everyone is extremely punctual about writing recommendations; some contacts forget, some professors are very busy, and this can all lead to incomplete and late applications.  Additionally, pick former employers who you worked with closely and can attest to your strong workplace characteristics. The same goes for professors who can confidently write about your strong academics.

Apply and apply everywhere

Of course it depends on what field you are focused, but for the most part the undergraduate internship and job markets are cutthroat and cold. Many times potential employers won’t email you back to let you know that you did not get the position because of the “high volume of applicants.” There is not much closure in this cruel process. For this reason it is in your best interest that you apply everywhere you can, to every position that you had the slightest interest in, or any job that you can somewhat envision yourself doing. In the worst-case scenario you may end up with something that wasn’t at the top of your list originally. But in the best-case scenario you will be able to choose from a selection of positions.

Most importantly though, do not be discouraged if you do not get your first choice, or if you are rejected a few times. This process can take a toll on your self-esteem, but remember that your resumes, cover letters, and recommendations and how they are received are not accurate indications of your character or self-worth. They are awkward and impersonal pieces of paper that employers use to try and get some sense of who you are, and what skills you possess, though these impressions don’t even begin to scratch the surface of your character. Good luck and keep going!

• internships