The Most Effective Way To A Starter Job.
I am a big believer in internships. I received my first internship while an art student at school, working in the Financial Aid marketing department designing scholarship brochures. After two semesters, it turned into my first real graphic design paying gig and I was hooked. I could actually make money doing what I loved! I was thrilled and now had real-life examples to put in my portfolio post-graduation. Internships allow students to learn, but it also helps them decide if that is a good career match for them. Internships help students figure out, while still in school, whether the career they envisioned for themselves is the right path.
I’m not going to lie, if you know someone, now might be the time to put the word out there that your student is looking. My daughter found a great internship through her campus newspaper and as it turns out the hiring manager was a good friend of our family. It didn’t necessarily help her get the job, but it did help her get the interview. The good news now is that many internships also pay a small salary, or the student can gain course credit. (Check with your advisor for those details)
UM’s Topped Career Center offers students assistance searching for internships and jobs, signing up for events and interviews, and career counseling. In addition, they run various career and internship fairs throughout the school year. These are a great resource. The full schedule of events for undergraduate and graduate students for each school. Professional attire for these fairs is recommended as well as bringing a copy of your resume and researching the employers that will be there. The Career Center also provides career tools for help writing your resume and other valuable resources.
There are also many websites that list potential internships. Internships.com, as most of the sites do, allows students to put in their city and field of choice and even whether or not they are looking for paid or unpaid internships. From there, a proper cover letter and resume would be the next step. Occasionally a Skype interview may be requested. Using sites like Indeed or SimplyHired may be worth a try, but spending a lot of time on these to simply hit the “apply” button and having their resume sent into a black hole generally doesn’t prove too successful as most of these positions get filled by students with a more personal connection.
Some websites, like Internmatch.com, allow students to sign up to get daily notifications for new postings about jobs that may be of interest to them. Glassdoor.com and YouTern.com are also useful websites to find an internship. FindSpark.com is better known for its more creative internships and entry-level jobs in NYC.
LinkedIn can be an excellent resource. Perhaps your student saw a position at a company they are interested in one of the above sites and then by scouring LinkedIn they can make a connection. A LinkedIn Jobseeker account allows you to view profiles and send InMail messages starting from $29.95 per month. HaveUHeard that LinkedIn has a version specifically designed for students looking for their first jobs? The LinkedIn Students app is free, and lets you research jobs, view companies where alumni from your schoolwork, and connect with more people. You can create an account and get started right away without spending a dime.
To search for internship listings, be sure to have a detailed and updated LinkedIn page ready to go, then go to the jobs tab at the top of the page and put “internship” in the search box. Refine your search by filling in the boxes on the left side of the page. Some students are creating their own videos or websites to show off all they have done and are capable of. It can be better than a long portfolio that may exceed the amount of space for uploaded information. These are generally used for more majors like graphic design or advertising, and not finance.
HaveUHeard which companies were selected as the 100 best internship programs in the U.S.? WayUp presents its Top 100. Vault also has its list of the Top 20 Most Prestigious Internship Programs for 2020.
Should your internship take you out of state, learn about housing options.
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