Summer Internships: How to Land One Before It’s Too Late!

The college struggle is often coupled with another related difficulty: internships. Most college students will at least attempt to get an internship before their four years are up since in today’s world it’s incredibly hard to get anywhere in the job market without at least something on your resume. Internships usually end up being one of the best options for the busy student, as they get you a foot in the door of whatever industry you’re interested in pursuing once you graduate, and summer is a great time to get that experience! However, with summer already more or less begun it’s gonna be a bit of a scramble to find something if you haven’t already, so here are a few tips to help take the pressure off and get you that last-minute summer internship.

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Get Online

This should be a pretty self-explanatory one, but get online! Websites like Linkedin and Handshake are great resources for college students looking for internships. You can apply filters to find specific careers you’re interested in, requirements for the position that you meet, and whether it’s a local or virtual position. It may take some time to find what you’re looking for, but using job sites with enough tenacity will net you a list of great opportunities you can start applying for.

Follow Employers You Like

A secondary point to the prior one, but it’s a really useful tip: follow any employers you’re interested in on your job sites. If you follow an employer as a whole rather than marking specific job openings you’ll be alerted to new postings they make, a lot of which will be short-term openings (like summer internships). By following them you’ll be able to get the jump on any positions that open up and can slide to the front of the application pool, hopefully netting you that summer internship.

Look for Opportunities Within Your College

Before you drive yourself crazy looking through hundreds of job listings it’s a great idea to start by accessing an invaluable resource you already have access to: your college. A lot of departments at many colleges offer summer internships or part-time positions for students. Some professors might even have openings for assistants with research, which can be a great way to add some practical job skills to your resume if you’re interested in more academic pursuits. Another really useful thing you can do is talk with someone from your college’s Career Development Center. Most colleges have one, and their entire job is to help students (like you) find jobs and build up their resumes. Your Career Center may have listings sent directly by employers or a line of contact with other interested parties. At the very least they can definitely look through your resume and cover letter and make sure it’s in the best shape possible to hopefully land you that summer internship, last minute or not.

Tap Into the Alumni Network

One of the annoying truths of today’s job market is that a lot of positions you’ll get won’t be because of your resume or your prior work experience, it’ll be because you knew someone to give you a foot in the door. Luckily, your college again gives you a great resource, chiefly, the alumni network. This is another thing your Career Center can probably help you with, but there’s a lot you can probably do on your own. Check and see if your college has some kind of alumni website or similar resource for you to start reaching out and chatting with people. If not, you can utilize sources like Facebook and other social media platforms. Find some people who are in fields you’re interested in and ask if they know of any openings for college-age interns. You’ll receive a lot of silence or nos, but at least some of them might have a position you can try and apply for, and with the help of an alum you’re that much more likely to get it.

Broaden Your Search to Part-Time and Volunteer Work

While a summer internship is really great for your resume, it’s not the only option you have available. Consider broadening your search to other positions. A lot of part-time jobs start popping up in a lot of cities and towns during the summer which you can apply for in addition to any internships you’re eyeing. Even though it may not be your first choice, part-time work can still look great on your resume and can emphasize your real-world skills to employers, so think about it. Additionally, volunteer organizations are always looking for more people, and it’s another situation of looking good on your resume. Remember, something is better than nothing, so if you’re at the end of your rope for internships, you can always look into local volunteer groups to get some experiences to make yourself that much more marketable.

Landing an internship is hard, especially when you add a time crunch on top of it. Hopefully, you’re in a good place to start your job search with these tips, and with any luck, you’ll have a great internship ahead of you for the rest of the summer.