As intern season is in full swing, I thought I’d share a few words of wisdom with aspiring students seeking oportunities.
1) Internships are generally filled by April. If you start your search then, you will most likely be disappointed. My suggestion? Try to find a summer job through a temporary firm. At least you will get some office experience.
2) Put your school information at the TOP of your resume. If I have to scroll to the bottom of your resume to find out where you are going to school, your GPA, and graduation date I may get bored long before then and move on. I have literally HUNDREDS of applicants for the half dozen or so positions I have open.
3) Speaking of resumes: you are not exempt from using key words on your resume. I had a Computer Science PhD candidate apply for an internship. I’m sure he was probably qualified, but *nowhere* on his resume did he reference the actual technical skills required for the job. For me to be able to evaluate you, if there are functional skills listed on the job description, *you need to include them* or I cannot legally consider you a qualified applicant. Yes, I said legally. (Read my post on keywords if you aren’t sure what I’m talking about.)
4) Please, don’t apply for positions you are completely unqualified for. It makes you look desperate and/or unable to read basic job descriptions. If you are an art history major, unless you have a minor in Computer Science, you should *not* be applying for a software engineering internship.
5) I’m sorry, but we most likely cannot hire an out of country student. It has to do with work authorization. If you are going to school in Germany but have a US passport, say so on your resume; but don’t expect us to pay for your flights to/from the US. Our budget is not limitless.
6) If you graduated already or will be graduating right before the internship starts, trying to squeeze a full-time job out of an internship may or may not be possible. It depends on the company, their budget, and need. It might emerge next year, but not this year. If you are looking for your first full time job out of college, be honest and say that is what you are looking for.
7) Unpaid internships are on the decline, mainly because of Federal Regulations in the last few years. Unfortunately, this means the opportunities to gain valuable work experience are severely limited for students. I would recommend you try volunteering instead.
Finally, if you have been out of school for over 6 months, you generally *do not qualify for an internship", especially when the job description requirements say "student" or "currently enrolled" in it. BR />