Scoring a summer internship has never been so competitive than it is nowadays: employees want students to have a previous work experience, a high GPA, as well as activities on campus and in the community. You have probably read tons of information on how to get your first internship, because, quite frankly, your future career prospects do depend on it. Maybe after doing that, you are lost among all those tips and recommendations as I was when I was looking for a summer job. So, how did I get my first internship? Here are steps that have helped me achieve doing so:
1. Do your research!
I can't emphasize the importance of this step enough– doing research. Make sure to start researching early– read about the field you’d like to work in, talk to the people who work in it, and attend workshops and seminars to familiarize yourself with a possible career. If you’re a college student, especially a freshman or a sophomore, the best way for you to figure out where you want to work or intern is to gather enough information.
This step also applies to searching for a first internship– you don’t want to waste your summer and about 400 hours of work in a place you end up hating. Research a company you might work for– know what their values and culture are, what type of clients they work with, and, more importantly, what they look for in their interns and how they treat them. You have to understand that you aren't the only one interested in launching the internship, the company needs you as well– so respect yourself and research the position you might take for the next ten weeks.
2. Build your resume/ “Passion beats GPA”
You've probably heard this tip a million times, but I’m going to repeat it again– build a good resume. What does it mean? Show your activities and how you’ve excelled in them. Building a good resume means not selling yourself short– you led the project in college or organized an event? Put it on there! You’ve been volunteering in a school tutoring a class of middle school kids? Write it on your resume! You have a previous work experience as well as a decent GPA showing that you can multitask and cope with a lot of responsibilities at the same time? Make sure your resume has it!
However, what’s even more important is your ability to talk about your resume. The interviewers would probably ask you to describe your activities and previous experience or “walk them through" your resume. You have to be able to do so, and do so with passion. You should be able to elaborate on any point on your resume and describe all projects and accomplishments you’ve included in it. Employees might not care that you don’t have a perfect GPA, but what they do care about is passion. Be able to talk about your past work experience and any activity on campus or in the community that you've taken part in with passion. Don’t lie about them or exaggerate them, recruiters and managers will see through it. Be honest and assertive, and you'll have a chance to score that internship.
3. Network wisely and make use of your connections
The word “networking” has been in the air for quite some time, but what does it mean to network effectively? For example, at networking events, I would run to every recruiter/professional there and try to “network” with them. In other words, I would awkwardly make small talk and ask them a few regular questions. However, after some time I got tired of doing that– talking to five people during one night, asking the exact same questions repeatedly, and waiting for them to respond to my “follow-ups” the next day. A tip from my college’s alumni put it perfectly, who said: “Don’t try to network with literally everybody. Speak with those people who you think you can really connect, and make meaningful connections that would last more than one networking event.”
That is my tip #3: network wisely and make use of your connections. Ask for help from those who are happy to help you– show them your resume, and talk to them about their experience with searching for an internship. Let them speak about their worst interviews and what they could’ve done better. More importantly, don’t waste your time networking with people you feel uncomfortable being with. Value your own time and energy, and find someone who truly understands your problems and is ready to help you.
4. Learn to deal with rejections
Let’s be honest, being rejected is never pleasant. I’m not going to tell you to “take rejections as lessons” or that “rejections only make you stronger.” These things might be true, but when you get this email starting with “Unfortunately…”, you don’t care about the positive sides of that negative answer. However, you must learn how to deal with them.
If you did get rejected, think about the things that had gone wrong during your interview, but do not see yourself as a disappointment. Instead, think about the things you can improve. You might want to review sample interview questions, work on talking about your resume, work on your public speaking skills and work on being more confident during interviews. In addition, never forget that being rejected is not always your fault- maybe the company has already filled the spot, or they have found someone referred by an employee (see the importance of networking in my previous tip).
In addition, realize that being rejected is always for the best- that’s what I was told by an associate in Morgan Stanley who surely had had plenty of rejections in her career. You might be shocked and ask "why?" Well, being rejected means that you probably were not the right fit for the company and its culture, which is totally fine. Everything happens for a reason, even rejections.
5. Be bold
Finally, my last tip for scoring your first internship is to be bold. I applied to more than 100 companies until I received about five calls back, but I never thought of giving up. Don’t stop applying and spreading your resume. Also, don’t be afraid to apply to big companies with famous names. I go to a small school in New York City but my fellow classmates have gotten summer internships at Facebook, Google, Sony, and a great number of investment banks like JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs etc. I, being a sophomore, was able to launch my first internship this summer at an IT company that partners with Microsoft and HP. All this happened because we were persistent and determined.
