8 Tips to Land the Perfect Internship
perfect internship
The economy is pretty much booming right now with the unemployment rate at all time lows. Although that's a good indication that there is an internship with your name on it, you won't get it if you don't stay aware. The fact is that many college students don't know the value of doing internships and others don't necessarily know how to find them.
Whether or not the internship is paid or unpaid, 75% of the 2015 grads agreed that they were satisfied with their internship experiences (Source naceweb.org). That's good news and should encourage more students to find them. One way to improve your chances of being satisfied with your internship, is to try and land that dream, perfect internship early.
Since fall semester is the big recruiting period for summer internships, you should be paying attention to the deadlines coming up for competitive internships.
Here are some tips as you try to land that perfect internship experience:
1. Take advantage of the career counselors and coaches in the career center at your college or university.
2. Talk to your network of friends or family members in your hometown if you live on campus. Tell them you are looking for internships when you are home. They may be able to make a recommendation for you.
3. Find out if there are any internships on your campus. Many HBCU campuses run summer camps, sports institutes, residence life programs and summer orientation programs on campus where you could be employed. Depending on your major, that work could definitely be your internship.
4. Ask upperclassmen about internships they completed. They may be able to help you with a hook-up to the same company.
5. Reach out to others on campus including faculty, coaches, mentors and alumni offices. You would be surprised who knows where internships are open.
6. Set up your LinkedIn profile and opt in to be notified of job opportunities.
7. Set up internship alerts at The HBCU Career Center. It is easy to do!
8. Talk to your supervisor at your current part-time job and find out what else could be added to your job that could turn your part-time job into an internship.