There comes a time in our college career when we realize the end is coming. Once that moment comes, it hits us in the face that we need to start looking for an internship or job. Anxiety is at a whole new level and our brain starts to spiral all our thoughts. This situation takes over everything until it's all we can think about. Finding the perfect job or internship is always our first goal, but when it comes down to it, we will take anything.
Truth is, when we have to combine the most important decision of our life and the thought of leaving college, it creates the biggest mind-blowing moment we will have for a while. While looking for an internship or job, there are different stages we go through. Like any other process, it starts off great—we get organized, we have all networking outlets open and we met with our advisors. Nothing will go wrong, right? Wrong. Now comes the stage of discouragement.
Since we are all college students, the majority of us have experienced procrastination. Well, friends, that comes back to bite us in the butt. At this point, we have found some internships or jobs that would fit perfectly with our majors, but a couple of weeks go by, and the deadline is quickly approaching. Now there’s little time to put a cover letter, resume, and recommendations together.
You know what else is haunting us on top of the deadline? Our parents. We love our parents, but the pressure they put on us to find an internship or job makes this process even harder. Nobody wants to disappoint their parents, but there also is not much we can do if there aren’t any companies that want to hire us. Once everyone calms down, our parents start to bring down the pressure and continue to support us. This starts the stage of motivation again.
Truth is, we don’t realize the amount of resources we have to help us find an internship or job. Here are some resources we have: professors, career services, advisors, deans, and sorority sisters and fraternity brothers. Those aren’t even half of the resources we have on college campuses. The connections we make on campus carry so much weight and power in our process that it makes it easier to find the perfect fit.
Truth is, rejection from a company can only be beneficial. Although it may be easy to get discouraged from not hearing back or getting rejected, it can help in the long run. Truth is, we can learn a lot from rejection; it builds a backbone. We learn to take constructive criticism, which then guides us to future success with other companies. Even if we go through the interview process, it still gives us experience in a formal interview setting.
Overall, the search for an internship or job has its ups and downs. We may get stressed out and freak out on our roommates, but in the end, it’ll all be okay. We just need to remember to utilize our resources and make connections through the remaining years of college. In the end, our passions and drive will lead us to the finish line, finding that perfect internship or job.
