Its that time of year again. Time for ice skating, shopping, holiday parties, relaxing by the fire, and applying for internships for the coming semester and summer. I decided to be productive and get my resume updated and get looking for new jobs early, but not even those steps could help me. I thought I was qualified (enough) to get some internships or entry level positions, but each job posting has me realizing how much more I have to do.

Hopefully, I’m not alone thinking all these thoughts throughout the internship hunt process:

Entry Level Job* | *requires three years of previous experience

Last time I checked, entry level meant beginner. I am a beginner, so entry level should be something I can relate to. I check all the job duties and requirements and everything looks good until I find out that I need a bachelor's degree and previous job experience. Okay, guess I’ll try again in another year and a half.

Previous Internship Experience Preferred

I’m trying to get some experience here! So if I don’t have prior internship experience does that put me behind other candidates? I think I’d do a good job even without a previous internship. Will you please give me a chance?

Hold or working towards a degree in Marketing or Communication.

So does Business Communication count? Sorry my major is probably made up by my college, but I swear I’m learning a lot and it’s a related field to both marketing and communication!

Unpaid.

I wish you were paid, but I’m desperate at this point. I’ll just scrape together a few dollars as a waitress to pay rent.

Are you able to relocate?

No. I’m an unpaid student intern. But, if I could, I would. Relocation to the south sounds pretty good right now (in the freezing weather with threats of snow).

All the internships are for engineers and accountants

I’m majoring in the humanities. How about an internship for book lovers?

I’ve never even heard of this company before

Is that okay? Will it even count as experience if the company is just a little startup in someone’s apartment? How do I know that this is even going to be helpful for my career goals?

Do people actually need to know how to do all these requirements?

I can do 11/12 of the requirements. Is it okay if I just google and fake it until I make it for the last one? Shouldn’t be too hard right? Analyzing data trends on twitter should be a breeze right? I took statistics once... those all nighters should count for something...

I’m still trying to answer all these questions and find a job that I am qualified for. So, if you are, too, just know you aren’t alone in this struggle.