Timeline for Summer Internship Seekers

February

Finding & Researching Opportunities

Internship hunting can be daunting. If you’re not sure where to your search for internship opportunities, here are a few places to look:

1. Your college’s career center
   1. Many colleges have an online database of internship opportunities you can search from
   2. Make an appointment with a career center counselor to go over your interests and ambitions and see if they can point in the right direction
   3. Many career centers also offer workshops on resume writing, practice interviews, etc.
2. Your professors
   1. Professors are constantly doing research and may have some summer research opportunities available or know of one
   2. If there’s a particular class you’re interested in, go over your specific interests and ambitions with your professor and see if they can recommend a company, colleague, etc. doing similar work
   3. Many times (summer) fellowships require professor recommendations, so it’s always a good idea to establish a working relationship with a professor so that they can write you a good recommendation later on
3. USAjobs.gov
   1. Interested in a government opportunity? Find internships for current students and new grads on the USAjobs.gov website
4. Industry blogs, websites, and even social media accounts
5. Internship/job search engines
   1. The Muse, Monster, LinkedIn, Indeed , etc.
6. Company Website
   1. If you already know which companies you’re interested in, head directly to their website and see if they have any openings on their career page
7. Your mentor
   1. Reach out to your Bernie mentor and ask if they can assist you with this or with any part of the internship seeking process

Once you start job searching, it can be easy to spiral down a rabbit hole of listings. Stay on top of internship priorities and deadlines by creating a spreadsheet, on Google or with Excel, to keep track of the opportunities you’re interested in. Some important things to record:

• Name of internship opportunity
• Company
• Industry
• Paid or unpaid
• Location
• Materials needed for the application
• Deadlines
• Name and contact information of the hiring manager
• Name and contact information of any connections you have at that company

You can narrow down a final list to apply to based on certain priorities like paid or unpaid, location (affects transportation & housing costs, pay), etc.

Applying

Once you’ve gathered all your application materials and have had someone else to review your resume and cover letters, start submitting them! You can reach out to contacts in your network that may work for that company to let them know that you’re interested and ask if they’d be willing to refer your application.

March

En Process

If a company responds to your application, make sure you respond quickly. A good rule is to always respond within 24 hours. This is the time you will start getting interview offers.

Tips on preparing for the interview:

• You can reach out to your network, alumni, etc. and see if anyone has insight into their interview process.
• Do some research via Glassdoor and other similar websites.
• Go through each responsibility listed on the internship posting and write a related skill, class, or experience that shows you are a good fit. Remember these for the interview.
• Interviews require formal business clothing. Business attire is expensive. If you are not able to find affordable options, organizations like Dress for Success and the Hope Program offer free professional clothing for those who need it. Do not be afraid to use the programs that are out there to help you.
• The interview is your chance to get clarification on any ambiguities you may have encountered – is the internship paid or unpaid, are you the only intern, how big is the intern class, are there any direct-hire opportunities after graduation?

April

Decision Time

You should have most of your offers in by now. All that’s left to do is to determine which offer most closely meets your interests, priorities, and budget. If you are relocating for the internship, now is the time to figure housing out.

May

Preparing for the big day!

Make sure that everything is in place for when your internship starts – housing, method of transportation, paperwork. Make sure you know where the office is, work hours, office dress code, and if there’s anything you need to bring on your first day.

Landing an internship is mostly staying organized, being prepared, and following up, so make sure you are staying on top of things! Good luck!