Tips for Getting an Internship in College
Looking for tips on getting an internship in college? You’re in the right place!
Having an internship in college is a great way to boost your resume and get valuable work experience in your future career.
Summer internships are the most common arrangement for college students, although you may also be able to find an internship during the academic year as well.
Landing an internship can be a challenge, but it’s not impossible!
Who am I to offer this advice? I had four paid internships throughout college. I landed my first internship during the fall of my sophomore year and it was at a Fortune 500 broadcasting company. Then I had two summer internships at a Fortune 50 consumer goods company. Finally, I had an internship at a software startup company.
When I graduated college, I received a full-time offer from a Big Four consulting firm, so it’s safe to say my internship experience paid off.
These are tips I followed to get my internships during college that you can do too:
1. Take advantage of your university’s career resources.
Most universities have a career center with tons of resources available to students looking for internships. However, many students have no idea these resources even exist, and miss out on the advantages they can offer.
Here are some common career resources your university may offer:
- On-campus career fairs
- On-campus recruiting events
- Free one-on-one resume help
- Free mock interview prep
- Connections with alumni
I landed three of my four internships through my university’s career resources and connections.
2. Make the most of personal connections.
You might be surprised how many personal connections you have who can help you in your internship search, whether it’s connecting you with someone who works at the company or referring you for an internship position.
Some examples of people you know who may be able to connect you with an opportunity:
- Older students or alumni from clubs and organizations you’re a member of
- Family members and friends of family members
- Acquaintances such as neighbors or former teachers
Reach out to everyone you know and express that you’re looking for an internship. You never know how it might pay off! The way I found one of my college internships was through a girl in my sorority who was working for a company that was looking for more interns. (My sorority also led me to three additional non-internship part-time jobs in college!)
3. Pay attention to deadlines and cast a wide net.
The summer internship recruiting season starts as early as the fall for many companies. (There’s also usually a spring recruiting season as well.)
To increase your chances of landing an internship, start planning early and note down application deadlines so you don’t miss applying to your dream job.
It’s also a good idea to cast a wide net when you apply for internships. I didn’t keep detailed records, but I probably applied for 20+ internships each season.
I did keep records when applying for full-time jobs before I graduated college, and out of 30 applications I got four interviews and one offer!
The more internships you apply for, the better your chances become of landing one.
4. Prepare scenarios for interview questions.
Almost every internship interview will contain behavioral interview questions.
You should familiarize yourself with more common behavioral questions so you know what to expect. But rather than rehearsing answers to specific questions, I recommend preparing a handful of scenarios you can discuss and apply to various different questions.
Think about times in your college life where you have shown leadership, teamwork, or some other skill. You can draw from experiences including:
- Previous work experience
- Campus organizations or clubs
- Volunteer work you’ve done
- Study abroad experience
- Group projects you’ve led in class
Once you have some scenarios in mind, it will be much easier to answer behavioral interview questions on the spot.
5. Use the STAR method for answering interview questions.
The STAR method is an easy shortcut you can follow to give amazing answers to behavioral interview questions.
Here’s what it stands for:
- Situation
- Task
- Action
- Result
You can use this model to answer just about any interview question. The great thing about following the STAR method is that it prevents you from rambling and helps you focus on answering the question in a clear and dynamic way.
6. Be professional following an interview.
There are two things I did after every interview in college.
First, if it was an in-person interview, I gave my interviewer one of my business cards. Yes, I had business cards as a college student!
The career prep class I took in college required everyone to get business cards made. It costs less than $20 to get a big set printed, and it’s a worthwhile investment.
Every time I handed my interviewer a business card, they were always really impressed. In fact, at one of my internships, I was told they ended up choosing me over other candidates because I was the only one with business cards and it stuck out to them.
The other thing I did was connect with my interviewer on LinkedIn within a couple hours of the interview. I would just send them a connection request with a brief message thanking them for their time during the interview.
Two simple things that can really leave a good impression!
Getting Your Dream Internship in College
I hope these tips help you land your dream internship in college!
Remember, there are multiple summers during college (and you can always find fall and spring internships too) so don’t get too stressed about finding an internship.
Even if it doesn’t work out with an internship one summer, there are so many great summer jobs for college students that you can do instead.
Be persistent and don’t give up, and you will be able to land an amazing internship!
Related Posts: