Career Services

Exploring internships

An internship can help shape your career trajectory, expand your professional network, build your resume, and bolster your chances of securing meaningful employment after graduation. Students who benefit the most from internships are intentional in their internship planning. Below are some things to consider before you start your internship search.

Understand what an internship is:

  • Opportunity for current students to develop time-limited experience (usually a quarter or two) in a workplace setting. 
    • Note that internships are typically for current students. Most graduates will search for full-time entry-level roles. 
  • Stronger focus on student learning than is typical with part-time jobs.

Get your materials together:

  • Draft and polish a resume and cover letter for your applications.
  • The importance of these documents cannot be overstated. Take them seriously. Make sure they are error-free and tailored to specific internships.

Reflect on what you want out of an internship:

  • Learn a new skill or practice a skill you recently learned.
  • Apply your classroom learning in a real-world setting.
  • Experience a new sector, industry, or work environment.
  • Explore an interesting career path.
  • Get your foot in the door at a specific organization.
  • Remember, internships are a valuable way to kickstart your career! Employers highly value seeing prior experience on your resume.

Prepare for interviews:

  • Take time to investigate effective interview strategies, research the employer, and figure out how you’ll articulate your skills to the employer.
  • Schedule a mock interview with Career Services to practice your answers to common interview questions.

Think about logistics:

  • Most internships are paid but some (at some nonprofits, for example) are not. Research alternative funding resources if needed, and/or consider taking an internship course for academic credit.
  • Do you want to pay for and earn academic credit for the learning that takes place in your internship? Earning credit is optional (except for international students) and won’t affect your ability to receive pay from the employer.

Evaluate opportunities:

  • Does the internship involve meaningful work that is of value to the organization?
  • Does the employer seem committed to helping you create learning goals and providing ongoing feedback?

Consider timing:

  • It’s never too early to do an internship, but your sophomore or junior year is a good target.
  • Need to know when internships are posted? This varies by industry. Industries like accounting, banking, and tech tend to recruit in the fall for the following summer, while non-profits and education tend to hire closer to spring.
  • Internships can happen any time of the year. When can you squeeze in a 10-15 hour a week internship?

Look for internships:

  • Apply for positions you find through referrals, employer websites, internship sites, fairs, etc.
  • Create your own by approaching an organization you feel passionate about with an internship proposal.

Next Steps:

  • Meet with a career coach to develop an internship strategy.
  • Start perusing internship postings – Handshake, Internship Fair, departmental resources, etc.
  • Utilize Career Services resources on internships, resumes, cover letters, interviews, and LinkedIn.
  • Check with your academic department about earning credit for the learning that takes place in an internship
  • International students – talk to a ISS adviser about CPT.