Most people understand the importance of getting internships during college, or even as you enter the workforce. Internships give you real-world experience in your field of study, which can help you realize how much you like your major or not. I started applying to internships in October of 2016 and stopped for a little in November. Most of the ones I applied to didn't bother to tell me that they weren't interested. Some of them told me they found other candidates as late as last week. But one internship opportunity in particular got back to me in a matter of two, maybe three, weeks. And it was US Steel, one of, if not the, biggest steel producer and supplier in America.
I got an email saying they would like to interview me for the position I applied for (software developer), and gave me a few days that I could pick to have my interview. My interview ended up being a phone interview and happening at 9am - right after a Bio class I had that went from 8am to 8:50am. I sat in Zurn, our science and art building, with two of my friends there for moral support, and was interviewed.
The interview process was actually really easy, all I did to prepare was read their annual report from 2015 (it was about 500 pages worth of material), and think about questions regarding things that pertained to the position - so basically anything involving computers I thought about questions to ask about. I was interviewed by two people, one from HR, another from the IT department - who is now my boss. They asked me all about myself, and nothing at all about anything extremely techy (which was great because at that point I was only familiar with the basics of Python). The most they asked me was if I had experience with C (another programming language), and what my favorite/least favorite part about Python was. So, of course, I was honest about everything they asked me because it would suck to get the internship and sit a computer and be told to code in C - something I never even heard of until the fall semester.
They were very kind and understanding that I didn't have all the experience in the world - which is good because internships are about gaining experience. So when the interview concluded, I was a little confused because nearly every question was about me and my life and goals so I wasn't sure what to expect.
Fast forward to a few hours later - the same day - I got a phone call in my programming class from the lady that has been sending me emails updating me about the position, asking me to call her back. It was a couple of days later when we both had time and could actually talk without leaving voicemails, and I was offered the position. So then my internship hunt concluded about a month after I started looking.
So, I suppose the moral of this article is that when you look for internships and get interviews for them, don't be stressed; it's going to be all about you! And don't lie about anything because most people should be understanding since it is an internship, and look into the company's history a little if you can - if not then try to think about questions pertaining to the position you applied for. It's always good to have questions for the interviewers, and it's actually frowned upon to not have any questions.
