I spent my Christmas break applying for summer internships because I have to complete an internship for credit in order to earn my degree. This is not the case with every school and every degree plan, but it is still something good to look into anyway. Although I have previously done an internship before, I was not able to complete it for credit because I missed a prerequisite requirement for the internship course and I am trying again for this summer. I heard back from 16 companies out of the 27 companies that I applied for, which I have recently learned is abnormal to hear back from that many. During the month of January, I received three offers from Media Research Center, Answers in Genesis, and Trans World Radio.
Even though I have not made my final decision on which company I want to accept a position with, I still wanted to share the general lessons about what I learned about internship applying. I am only going to give tips about summer internships since that is the season I am the most knowledgeable about. Here are some general tips to follow when applying for internships:
- Have a solid resume: I hate to say it, but not every company relies on human beings to read applicant resumes. Some companies will use a robotic scanner to go search for keywords or relevant experience. If you do not have a neat, readable 1 page resume, expect them to not give you their time of day to look at your documents. Another thing about resumes is that they are certain fonts that each industry likes to see in resumes, so be sure to look up on Google what fonts are good for your industry.
- If relevant for your career path, have a solid portfolio: Please feel free to skip this step if this does not apply to you as this is mainly for people who are going into liberal arts fields such as graphic design, digital media, communication, etc. In my case, I do have a portfolio as a Strategic Communication major and Digital Media: Video minor. I have had some employers tell me that they will look at portfolios first which will then determine if they will want to look at my resume and the rest of my documents. I would suggest you create a portfolio website as soon as possible, even if you are a freshman who cannot start posting right away because of gen ed classes. Behance is a free website powered by Adobe, which is what I use. Journo Portfolio and Clippings.me are also a couple of other good free portfolio websites too. I always like to update my portfolio at the end of every semester so I can look back and pick my strongest/best projects to post and keep it up to date with my current skillset.
- Customize your cover letters for each company/organization: Employers are not stupid; they will be able to figure out if the cover letter they received was the exact same copy other companies have received from you, and they will not be happy. You can read more about writing cover letters here, but my main suggestion for cover letters other than to manually write each one is to look through the job qualifications and responsibilities and find which ones you think are true or applicable to you and write about it.
- If you do not have any previous internships, apply for as many as you can: This part is going to stink the most, but unfortunately, it is the reality that we live. Internships are so competitive but they are highly valuable because it gives you professional experience before you earn your degree and you get your first salary job. As I said before, I learned that hearing back from 16 out of 27 companies was not normal, so try not to be too picky about the companies you apply for and put yourself out there as much as you can.
- A good first month to look for summer internships is November: While you might be able to find an internship that you like in August-October, many companies won’t post their summer internship positions until starting November and even later. It would help you more if you are able to apply for a summer internship before November, but please don’t beat yourself up if you cannot find something before November. It is perfectly normal to start after November, but if you want to beat the crowds then before November would help you if you possibly can.
- Unless the confirmation email specifically asks you not to, feel free to ask for updates once in a while: It is a good general rule to call or email someone once in a while asking for a update because it shows that you care and that you want the position. While I was searching for a summer internship earlier this year, I actually received a few confirmation emails asking me to not contact them asking for an update because they were overwhelmed and wanted to talk to me when they were ready. Please take note if you do receive this notation and respect their privacy, otherwise do not be afraid to call or email once in a while to ask about your status.
- Be patient: This varies with each company, but generally with corporations and large organizations if you do hear back from them, it won’t be until around 1 month later. Don’t panic and be willing to give them time to look through your application.
Finding internships can be daunting and stressful, and believe me I completely understand. I hope you find this article to be helpful and I wish you the best of luck!
