How to Find an Internship in a Lousy Job Market

For college students, internships can be the equivalent to entry-level jobs. They provide the relevant work experience that employers want in new college graduate hires. A primary focus of most employers’ intern programs is to feed their full-time hiring pipeline. Once hired, interns tend to stay – an indicator of a good fit for both young professional and company.

In good times, when internships are abundant, the easiest path to finding an internship is through the career services center on campus. In tough times, however, assume you will have to find your own internship opportunity. And here is where the treasure hunt – and hard work -begins.

More than ever, the investment made in securing a solid internship is invaluable. Julie Cunningham, a consultant, university career counselor and Human Resources manager who has hired hundreds of college interns and new graduates, shared her insights with Career Vision. Cunningham is also a member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Academy of Fellows.

We appreciate Cunningham’s ten suggestions for a more successful internship search in today’s job market:

1. Demonstrate personal initiative.
   Employers want to see that the student did the work. Employers are not impressed when the internship or job search is done by proxy, such as a well-intentioned parent. They look for students who demonstrate initiative, who will follow up diligently by phone or email.
2. Set goals.
   Most students think that the first step to the internship search process is to write a resume. Wrong! Just as in job search, you first need to answer the following questions and make a written plan:
   • What you want to get out of your internship?
   • What activities do you want to do?
   • What do you want to learn?
   • What steps do you need to take to find an internship?
   • How much time will you commit to search activities?
   • What companies are on your list to contact directly?

   Once the plan is formulated, then you are ready to draft a cover letter and resume. Ask a respected adult such as a parent, teacher, or advisor, to review them and make suggestions.

3. Evaluate your public image.
   What does your Facebook profile, Twitter account, blog, voicemail greeting, and email address say about you? Make sure you present yourself professionally before beginning your internship search.
4. Know your competition.
   A paid, full-time internship is considered the “Holy Grail of Internships.” These are typically offered by large corporations which have formal, structured internship programs and as such are the most competitive and sought after. Often these companies come to campus in the fall to interview summer internship candidates, so check with your campus career services office for the schedule.
5. Think outside of the box.
   Smaller companies usually do not have a formal internship program or a lot of time for supervising an intern. A good strategy is to ask if there is a project you could do and see if it can be turned into an internship. Discuss it with your faculty advisor.
6. Show up.
   Go to job fairs even if they are not advertised as internship fairs. Employers that hire new grads usually have internships.
7. Don’t overlook your network.
   Students have more of a network than they realize. Anyone you know through classes, campus or church-related organizations, your job, or fraternities and sororities are fair game. Help your network help you by being specific about what you would like to do in your internship and your target companies. Refer to your plan!
8. You are always interviewing.
   Students should be aware that there are many situations that can be used to impress a potential employer. People who hire new grads or student interns are always on the lookout for young adults who are polite, articulate, helpful and resourceful. One of your customers at your wait staff job at a restaurant or cashier job in a retail store may be a potential hiring manager – or know of someone who is.
9. Use the technology and communication methods your target company prefers.
   There are variations among employers related to their use of technology. Most often, employers will use voicemail and email to communicate with you, so check regularly.
10. Persistence pays off.
    If you get turned down for an internship, wait a while and try again. Employers put out offers early and may get declines, candidates may accept and then get a better offer, or a manager may suddenly decide in May that they need an intern.

It’s true that the economic recession has been brutal on the jobs and internship markets. It takes determination and attitude “moxie” to offset the “gloom and doom” of employment news. Just like the students in the stories below, you can meet your goals if you follow the ten tips.

Jacob created his own opportunity.
He was a junior international business major at an East Coast University with an interest in a career in real estate development. His goal? Find a summer internship in real estate in Charleston, South Carolina. He contacted real estate development companies, asking them if they had any projects that needed attention. A resort management company contacted him. Jacob was hired as their first summer intern. He gathered and analyzed financial information to determine the viability for an expansion of one of their marina properties.

Mandy was the right person in the right place at the right time.
As a junior Communications major, Mandy wasn’t quite sure where she could offer her talents, but she did want an internship to gain some related work experience. She loved to read, so in late winter she sent letters to local public libraries inquiring about internship possibilities related to her communication education. She landed a part-time program coordination and marketing internship. After graduation, she was welcomed back to the library to work part-time while job hunting. When the current program coordinator decided to retire, Mandy was ready to compete for the position and earned the full time offer.