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Finding Internships: Not As Hard As It May Seem

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Jori Fine
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Alyssa Goldman
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at IU chapter.

Although snagging a good internship in recent years may seem like an impossible feat, there are actually many resources here at IU to help us collegiettes™ find the perfect one.

Many students blame the economy for the high competition associated with getting that ideal internship, and the lack of intern spots that companies tend to take. However, Jeremy Podany, director of Career Services at the School of Informatics and Computing, says internships availabilities are up now as compared to past years.

But the news isn’t all positive. David Dyer, assistant director for Undergraduate Career Services at the Kelley School of Business, says that internships available are definitely looking better than last year, however they are still down from previous years.

Companies are taking advantage of the economic strain by offering unpaid internship positions. About 8-9 percent of Kelley students had unpaid internships in 2009, which was up from the usual 1 percent, Dyer says.

Unfortunately, it is true that many students end up having to decline internships because they can’t afford to spend the summer without pay. Freshmen and sophomores also find it harder to compete in the internship market

– with few spots open most  go to upperclassmen.

Podany says of the students in the School of Informatics and Computing, about 80 percent of those who get internships are juniors. However, there are a growing number of sophomores who receive internships and a handful of  some lucky freshmen who land one, Podany says.

The School of Journalism’s Career Services director Marcia Debnam knows that not every student will get an internship, but she believes most will be successful if they try hard enough. “It may not be their dream position, but it’s still good experience,” Debnam says.

Internships are also becoming valuable for students wanting to obtain more school credits. A little more than 220 journalism students received credit for internships last year, Debnam says.

The Kelley School of Business offers the career course X220 to students interested in getting access to all of the career services offered by the school.

In addition to career courses each school offers a wide variety of career services to assist students in preparing for and receiving jobs and internships. Such services include detailed career sections on the different schools’ websites as well as career fairs, campus interviews, and the opportunity to meet with a career adviser or coach. Also, myIUcareers on the Career Development Center’s website always has between 100 and 500 internships posted during the year.

Career departments are developing more resources since there is a great need for real world experience before graduation. “Students who don’t use career services are at a serious disadvantage,” Dyer says.

According to Dyer, the internship trend will stay about the same, with the amount of paid internships slowly increasing and an improvement in fulltime job hiring after graduation.

Students in the School of Informatics and Computing have received a variety of internships, including placements at John Deere and Microsoft. Journalism students have been receiving internship offers at magazines, PR firms, ad agencies, graphic design, television, and sports teams.

So, students don’t fear. There are not only internships available, but many places here at IU with staff that can’t wait to help you find your dream internship!

WARNING: It may seem like you have a lot of time to think about internships, BUT summer is a lot closer than it seems. We’ve compiled a list to help you jump start your internship search:

Career Development Center and Arts & Sciences Services
http://www.indiana.edu/~career/
 
Education Career Services
http://education.indiana.edu/Default.aspx?alias=education.indiana.edu/carsrv
 
HPER Careers and Internships
http://www.hper.indiana.edu/careers/
 
Informatics and Computing Career Services
http://www.soic.indiana.edu/career/
 
Journalism Internships and Careers
http://journalism.indiana.edu/media-careers/
 
Kelley School of Business Undergraduate Career Services
https://ucso.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/index.cfm
 
Library and Information Science Careers
http://www.slis.indiana.edu/careers/
 
Nursing Careers and Internships
http://www.indiana.edu/~iubnurse/home/career/profession.html
 
Public and Environmental Affairs Career Services
http://www.indiana.edu/~spea/career_services/index.shtml

 
 
 
 

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Alyssa Goldman is a junior at Indiana University majoring in journalism and gender studies. Alyssa aspires to be an editor at a women’s magazine writing about women’s issues and feminism. Alyssa has served as city & state editor and special publications editor for the Indiana Daily Student, IU’s award-winning student newspaper. She has also interned at Chicago Parent magazine, the IU Office of University Communications and Today’s Chicago Woman magazine. Currently, she is interning at Bloom, a city magazine in Bloomington, Ind., and loves being a Campus Correspondent for HC! In her spare time, Alyssa enjoys watching The Bad Girls Club, The Jersey Shore and The Real Housewives (of any city); listening to Lady Gaga; drinking decaf skinny vanilla soy lattes from Starbucks; reading magazines; and shopping and eating with her girls on IU’s infamous Kirkwood Avenue.