As a junior in college, it is now that time in which I start finding myself a summer internship. I am beyond stressed, as not only do I not know what I'm doing at all, but I'm also trying to apply and interview while in a different country. Knowing I would find this activity taxing and difficult, I began my search during the fall of last semester.
Despite my proactive role, I found that I had applied for positions that were planning on being filled within the next couple of months. The search for summer interns would apparently not begin until much, much later. I next postponed my job search until winter break, however still kept up in my research. I applied to several companies and organizations only to receive the same responses regarding needing immediate candidates.
This process was increasingly frustrating as I had taken the time only to discover that, yet again, it would seem I had wasted my time. I would need to be patient for an additional couple of months until summer internship searches would come around. In January, I began my semester in Ireland. Amongst the panic of moving in, culture shock, and adjusting to European courses, I also took on the task of continuing to apply for and research internships.
I made it one of my daily priorities, often logging onto LinkedIn rather than Facebook or Instagram. I sought out connections to network with and continuously searched for opportunities through a variety of job board sites. At the end of the day, I believe that I applied for at least 30 to 40 different positions (and counting) and have been scheduling interviews two to three times a week. All of this, of course, was during days of classes, homework, and traveling.
At this time I am still on the job hunt. Crazy, right? You'd think by now I would have locked an internship down. Unfortunately, that assumption would be incorrect. Though I have interviewed, been offered positions, and consistently scanned the internship field, I still have yet to find a match for what I'm looking for.
After a fun, but extremely expensive time in Europe, I am hoping to find a position close to home, avoiding the extra costs of transportation, housing, and, most of the time, food. By living at home I can commute to a variety of locations while still achieving the goal of saving up a decent amount of earnings for next semester's books and schooling.
Though I have discovered many opportunities are not paid, being back in San Diego would mean I could still partake in a full-time or part-time internship while also going back to my part-time side job as a waitress at a local burger restaurant.
If anyone reading has any tips or has any leads on internships in the field of public relations, communications, or marketing in the San Diego area, LET ME KNOW! If you have any advice to a struggling college student in search of an internship in general, feel free to reach out! Until then, you'll find me constantly updating my linked in profile and sending out resumes.
