How to Get a College Internship
If you’re wondering how to get a college internship, even when you don’t have any experience, then you’ve come to the right place. This article dives into three basic and tangible steps that can get you into the room interviewing for your first college internship.
You don’t have to be a junior or senior to land your first college internship, in fact, I was a sophomore when I landed my first accounting and data analytics internship, and I had no previous corporate experience.
Internships, often considered the holy grail of a junior or senior undergrad, can be a daunting and downright complex task to land. College students are constantly bombarded with, “did you get an internship this summer?”
“No dad, leave me alone! I want to play video games.” Clearly society has placed significant value on a student’s ability to get an internship.
So, how do you go about landing your first internship as a college student? That’s what we are going to answer today, but first let’s start with a story. Let’s take a journey down memory lane and see how I landed an invaluable internship as a 19-year-old sophomore in college.
How I Landed My First College Internship
It was a week into summer after my sophomore year. I needed a break from the stresses of school, so naturally I was sleeping in. *buzz… buzz… buzz* I heard my phone ringing and groggily picked up the phone. Slightly annoyed I answered with “Hello.. *cough*” It was a friend that recently graduated, and he had an exciting offer for me.
I figured I would go back to work at Jimmy John’s that summer but when I heard, “Hey would you be interested in an internship?” I instantly knew my summer had changed.
Later I went on to work that internship for 6 months. I got to work in accounting and data analytics and by the end of it I was one of the operators for an entire division of the accounting team.
I know what you are thinking, well you are lucky to have such a good friend. Yes… Yes, I was lucky to have such a good friend, or maybe it had to do with the way I conducted myself at school. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I had recently become the president of the club he used to be president of.
One thing is for sure; this wasn’t a cold call offer. I had done something to earn this spot. So how did I land this gig, or better yet, how can you land your first college internship?
The 3 Important Steps to Getting a College Internship
While there are various different tactics and strategies to wiggle your way into a corporate office for an entry level college internship, I think they all lose the point. It’s not about having the best elevator pitch (well, maybe a little) or asserting a certain level of intelligence in your interview.
No, not at all. In fact, contrary to what you might believe landing an internship is about being genuine. With this foreknowledge, evaluate these next three steps through your own self-perceptive lens.
Above all else, you must apply to internships. You will get rejected and you must try again. That’s how I got 4 internship offers my junior summer. Cast a wide net.
Step 1: Get Involved
This step might be the most important step for any student to take. Getting involved means things like going to university sponsored speakers or networking events, joining clubs, and participating in extra-curricular activities, or better yet, talking to your professors after class.
Getting involved on your campus is one way to get your name floating around. Faculty see when students put in hard work and care about the community, they are a part of. This matters because many times professors, students, or university administrators are privy to opportunities not always readily available to the public student base.
Take for example the club I became president of, that led me to my first internship. The world has an abundance of opportunities, it just takes a little time to put yourselves in the right places.
It’s important to recognize that your motives must be genuine. We’ve all experienced someone who is clearly faking their interest in a conversation or topic, likewise, people will tell when you only talk to them to receive opportunities in the future.
Lastly, getting involved is important not just for opportunity generation (being in the right place at the right time), but also because it’s always chalked full of golden opportunities to learn, develop, and create a better resume (and self) for an interview.
Finding an opportunity is only half the battle of an internship. The second half is showing that you are a genuinely good option for the company to choose.
What Are Some Specific Ways to Get Involved
My recommendations are to start with university sponsored events. Often times, universities will have speakers come to campus to talk about a book or their experiences in (insert whichever field you study).
Getting involved in clubs that are related to your major is also helpful. Whether that’s finance, medicine, communications, or engineering. Most universities will have clubs to join. Don’t have a club? You know what looks really good to employers? Creating a club. If it doesn’t exist, you have the chance to create it.
You can check with your local city to see if there are professional events to attend or charities that are in your field. Charities often have good relationships with local businesses owners and professionals, and often times charities need more people to help with events. Kill two birds with one stone and get a resume builder and network.
Step 2: Treat Yourself Like a Professional
What do I mean by treat yourself like a professional? “But I’m not a professional, I don’t have the experience” (in irritatingly whiny voice). Wrong, you do have the experience, it’s just not the thing you thought it was.
Hiring managers want to see three things when they are looking at resumes and interviewing you. They want to see dedication, competency, and growth. That means, throw away your insecure attitude, and show that you are dedicated, competent, and willing to grow.
This means start dressing like a professional when attending networking events. Being overdressed is not as bad as looking like a child that stumbled into a board meeting. There are two people that are noticed at networking events. The person who is so clearly underdressed, and the person that dressed better than everyone else. One of them can say they take professionalism seriously, and the other cannot.
Treating yourself like a professional also means having a clean and updated resume. This resume should contain previous work history, any skills not listed in your work activities, additional information hiring managers should know (brief), and a personal mission statement. I have personally created a stylistic resume, but some companies prefer simplistic resumes.
Lastly, this means using professional language. Drop curse words, drop slang (unless used tastefully to make a point), and definitely do not call recruiters “bro”, “man”, or “dude”. Keep your language simple to understand and straight to the point, always be willing to listen more than you talk.
When talking to professionals be as genuine as possible and be honest about your intent to find an internship. You’d be surprised how many people “know a guy.”
Step 3: Land, Then Nail, The Interview
This step usually happens after you’ve networked a lot, talked to your professors, joined a club, and don’t forget actually applying for the jobs.
Landing an interview starts by taking massive action. You can’t willy nilly apply for one internship and expect to get an internship, especially as a sophomore. I recommend starting by applying to internships that you think you’ll benefit the most from first, the ones you’ll enjoy second, and “subpar” opportunities last.
This starts by gathering your goals for an internship. Why do want an college internship? What do you hope to gain? If your goal is to get experience, then the pay shouldn’t matter. If your goal is to expand your career outlook (taking an internship that is slightly different than your current career outlook) then it will be important to find one that matches your skills. If your goal is to find a job after college, you might need to select a different company, not the one doing a 15-week summer program.
Once you have your goal, start applying and scheduling interviews. Once you are at your interviews make sure you have a strong value proposition – Pause – what the flip does that mean?
Your Value Proposition
A value proposition is your “pitch” of why you matter. Remember, companies hire people because of the value they bring. Some things that can create a better value proposition are past work experience, teamwork abilities, technical skills, and interpersonal skills (there are literally hundreds more).
For example, when I was interviewed, I had no experience in accounting, heck I hadn’t even worked an office job before. My past work experience was being a delivery driver and fitness instructor. So where was my value?
“I learn fast, and you won’t have to teach me twice.” That was my answer in the interview, and it worked. My value came from being teachable.
When you create your own value proposition it will be unique to you. Think of your strong characteristics and how they make you a good candidate for the internship. Convey that message whenever asked about “what you bring to the team” or “why you are a good fit for the company?”
Step 3: Land, Then Nail, The Interview (Continued)
Now if you’ve landed the interview now you just need to seal the deal and get that internship. Your parents will finally be proud of you because you will get some real-world experience and “jump start your career.”
Maybe, but also maybe not. Not every college internship turns out how you want it, but you can always learn something from an internship. Maybe you’ll even excel at your position. After six months with the company I interned with, I asked for a hefty 10%+ raise. They agreed because of the value I brought to them.
While I don’t have the space to write about how to seal the deal in an interview here, there are plenty of resources out there to help with that. I hope that you take this as a jump pad. This article is here to kick you into action. Get off your futon and go do some networking.
Opportunities are out there; you just have to find them.
Conclusion
Landing your first internship isn’t as daunting as it seems. All it takes is some targeted action. It all starts by getting involved and putting yourself out there. Opportunities find those who are searching for them. Make sure to act like a professional because you are a professional. Get that interview by networking, applying, and creating a great resume and nail the interview by showing you’re competent, confident, and dedicated.
Some helpful sites for college internships are Handshake.com, Indeed.com and direct websites to the company of your choice. Remember to be genuine and honest. Recruiters can tell when someone is acting and when someone is genuinely interested.
“There dad… now can I go play some video games?”
Until next time.
**Hi, I am your author Ryan Lisota, and I am on a journey to educate students of all ages. I am young, just like you and I have a goal to be on Forbes 30 before 30. Help me make that dream come true by reading another article here or subscribing to my newsletter here.**
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