7 Ways to Start Your Summer Internship Search
By Allie Tung
Make a Career Center Appointment. The Gordon Career Center is a perfect place to start your job/ internship search. Although the career advisors are available to meet year-round, they are especially helpful in the beginning stages of your search. Members of the full-time staff or student peer advisors can provide you with relevant resources, talk you through career paths, and suggest internship opportunities. Many of the tips throughout this article are taken from my meetings with Career Center staff! Setting up an appointment early in the year or as an underclassmen will help you get a jump-start on future planning. However, don’t rely on the career advisors to find you an internship! They can guide you in the right direction and assist you with applications, but much of this process must be done independently.
Use LinkedIn. For me, LinkedIn is a necessary evil; although it can feel weird, professional, and uncomfortable, it can also be helpful in narrowing your job search. There is much more to the website than sending requests to connect with acquaintances and endorsing your friends for their Microsoft Word skills. If you’re struggling to see how your Wesleyan courses connect with a career, try exploring Wesleyan’s LinkedIn page. This tool organizes all the LinkedIn profiles of Wesleyan alums which can be sorted by Class Year, Location, Major, Career, and Employer. Sorting this list by your major or focusing on your home city can give you an idea of what alums have done post-Wesleyan. This is a great way to see a realistic list of what majors lead to specific jobs, or what employers routinely hire Wesleyan grads. If you find an alum who is working for your dream company or located in your city, think about reaching out…
Reach Out to Alumni on WesConnect. If you find a Wesleyan alumni whose work you are interested in, you can most likely find their contact information through WesConnect, Wesleyan’s alumni directory. Search by name or class year to find email addresses for graduates all the way back to 1931. This is a great tool for contacting alumni who work in your area of interest; many are more than willing to chat with you about their experience and some even have summer opportunities available. Don’t expect everyone to respond or to offer you an internship, but keep an open mind about this option! I’ve reached out to several alumni through WesConnect who have all been eager to help me with my internship search and offer advice regarding the transition from Wesleyan to the job market.
Browse Handshake (But Don’t Get Discouraged). The most obvious place to start an internship search is on Handshake, Wesleyan’s job recruiting platform run through the Career Center. Employers post job and internship positions on the site and you can apply directly through the platform. The benefit to Handshake is that all the positions are specifically targeted towards college students, and many Wesleyan alumni even post opportunities (look for “Cardinal Internships”). In my experience, Handshake has many postings for jobs in more traditional areas like business, finance, and marketing. If you are interested in these types of positions, Handshake is great for applying easily. However, there are many other types of careers and internships out there; although it is worth clicking through Handshake periodically to check new postings, there may be better resources for your particular internship search. Don’t get discouraged if there are no opportunities on Handshake that interest you, or if they all require specific majors or class years. Try visiting other websites or making connections in your field of choice.
Talk to Professors. Although it is easy to think of your summer plans as completely separate from your school work, there are many ways to integrate your studies and professional experience. Try asking your professors (or advisor) for advice about summer internships. They will be able to talk with you about what previous students in your department have pursued, and many even know of specific opportunities you can apply for. As a bonus, this will strengthen your relationship with your professor, which is always a positive thing. In addition, many professors conduct research on-campus, both during the year and over the summer. Due to Wesleyan’s small graduate program, most research assistants are undergrads! Try reaching out to a professor earlier in the year; many will want to train you in their research before the summer begins. Although professor research is mostly in the sciences, other professors may be conducting other research or special projects that they need assistance with. Finding a summer internship may be easier than you think; professors are eager for their students to show initiative and get involved in their work!
Other Online Resources. There are tons of online job databases out there! Try Glass Door for inside information from company employees on salary, work culture, and perks, Liberal Arts Career Network for postings from 39 liberal arts colleges around the country, and Idealist for jobs in non-profits or related to social change. These are just a few I have used in the past, try searching for sites tailored to your area of focus. Although these websites are not all aimed at Wesleyan students, they provide an idea of the internship possibilities out there.
Don’t Stress if its Unpaid! Many internship opportunities for undergrads are unpaid, but don’t worry! Check out different grants available to you, specifically ones sponsored by the university. Wesleyan Summer Grants provide the most individual grants, usually of $4,000-$5,000, but there are other funding sources on campus. Explore the requirements for these resources early in your summer planning; they can help widen the possibilities for your summer experience! The grants will cover your housing, food, personal expenses, and Summer Earnings Expectations for students on financial aid. Wesleyan Grants can be used for internships, volunteer opportunities, or independent projects. Getting familiar with the grant requirements is a great way to start your internship search. This will help you consider unpaid or low-paying opportunities as you continue your internship search.
There are many ways to approach your summer plans, but hopefully these 7 strategies give you an idea of the possibilities! Starting your internship search can seem overwhelming and impossible, but taking small steps can help relieve some of this stress. When in doubt, consult your academic advisor or the Career Center advisors who can help you problem-solve any issues you may run into. Don’t feel like you need to use all of these strategies at once! Try one or two and see what works for your planning process. My biggest tip is to stay organized by doing little bits at a time; letting the work pile up will only lead to more stress and panicking. If you know you’ve been putting in your best work then there is nothing to be stressed about. Good luck!!