Internship. The word itself gives you way more anxiety than it probably should. Now that everyone's back on the school grind, we suddenly have to be responsible and make some big-girl decisions. Like... finding a internship. But seriously, how does one find one? It's like the biggest mystery of the world. It's debatably harder than waking up for an 8 a.m. class or ever getting sick of Chipotle. And that's saying a lot. I may be far from mastering the art of finding an internship, but here is a step-by-step tutorial on finding the infamous internship that every college student anxiously searches for:
1. Use as many connections as you have to get your foot in the door.
Connections don't guarantee anything, but they are your best advantage over the other applicants. Most of the time, employers won't even read all the applications because there are too many. Ask your mom, ask your dad, grandparents, uncle's, aunt's, pretty much anyone, because in today's competitive world, it's all about who you know.
2. Kill the resume game.
Your resume has to seal the deal. Employers typically spend less than 45 seconds reviewing your resume before making the decision to consider you for an interview. Scary, right?! Your number one priority is to stand out. Maybe you haven't had the most impressive list of experience, but it's not always what you say, but how you say it. Make your resume peak their interest.
3. Research, research, research.
It's so important to utilize the tools around you. Whether it's a simple google search or checking out internships recommended by your school, these are great ways to start searching around and narrowing down which you'd be interested in. It may seem like some of these would be a stretch, but you'd be surprised at how many people took a leap of faith, applied for one of them, and got it. You'll never know what opportunities you could have until you give them a try.
4. Don't be picky, take what you can get.
Of course, everyone would love to get an internship related to something in their field. However, that's not always the case. Sometimes you have to appreciate the mere act of getting an internship and know that it will be good experience and can help you in some way. Even if you get stuck with a coffee-fetching job, you're still working around the environment and you are still one step closer to actually doing real work. Don't ever rule out an internship because you never know what you could learn from it.
5. Be prepared for the possible outcome of the internship hunt.
I'm telling you, finding an internship can be tough. Think about all the college students out there, just like you, desperately searching for one. Yep, that's a lot. You may not be able to land one, but don't let that discourage you. Find a job that gives you experience with your major or just get a job that pays well in general. There is a lot of stress and pressure when it comes to internships but if you listen to these five steps, I promise you'll have much better success in your internship journey. Do the best you can and the rest will fall into place.
