How to find a summer internship

[Anonymous]

Junior at T50 with near perfect GPA and places nationally for a club sport and does volunteer work...but he can never find a meaningful job. Every summer, he ends up working at a restaurant or in retail (just like high school). He will be graduating early with an undergrad business degree in Finance. I'm worried he will not find employment after graduation if he can't get an internship this summer. He says he applies online to many, many jobs but never hears back.

[Anonymous]

Do research on campus and through that get a job.

[Anonymous]

What did the career services office say when they visited? Why is he only applying online for jobs and not doing job fairs at school?

[Anonymous]

Nobody gets internships by applying online. Most internship programs are filled by kids/nieces/nephews/neighbors of the people who work for the company.

Try asking around to your friends or in your neighborhood to see if there is anyone who knows your kid or your family who works in a similar industry and see if they would be willing to hand walk his resume to the person in charge of hiring interns.

That's how college kids get hired.

[Anonymous]

Use LinkedIn to find alumni. And reach out.

It's a grim time for all students presently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nobody gets internships by applying online. Most internship programs are filled by kids/nieces/nephews/neighbors of the people who work for the company.

Try asking around to your friends or in your neighborhood to see if there is anyone who knows your kid or your family who works in a similar industry and see if they would be willing to hand walk his resume to the person in charge of hiring interns.

That's how college kids get hired.

Thats not true

[Anonymous]

Junior CS major at UMD:
Summer after 1st year: Research on campus
Summer after 2nd year: small defense contractor (sent 190 applications from August-November to get 1 interview)
Summer after 3rd: software/AI firm (65 resumes from August-October-3 offers)

Ridiculously difficult for these kids. However easier than picking up the phone or faxing and making resumes like I had to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody gets internships by applying online. Most internship programs are filled by kids/nieces/nephews/neighbors of the people who work for the company.

Try asking around to your friends or in your neighborhood to see if there is anyone who knows your kid or your family who works in a similar industry and see if they would be willing to hand walk his resume to the person in charge of hiring interns.

That's how college kids get hired.

Thats not true

+1; definitely not true. My current senior going through this last summer sent out more than 100 resumes/ applications to intern opportunities found online. He had 3 interviews and one offer.

It's tough, OP, I agree. Just wait until this time next year when he's worrying about job offers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nobody gets internships by applying online. Most internship programs are filled by kids/nieces/nephews/neighbors of the people who work for the company.

Try asking around to your friends or in your neighborhood to see if there is anyone who knows your kid or your family who works in a similar industry and see if they would be willing to hand walk his resume to the person in charge of hiring interns.

That's how college kids get hired.

Personal connections are key for internships. Your child needs to network through people they know, the career center, the alumni office, etc. They should arrange to meet with people in their field of interest through these connections and ask for their recommendations, introductions, etc. All 3 of my children have gotten their internships through personal connections.

[Anonymous]

Personal connections certainly help but my son got his post-junior-year internship via applying online to a company where he had no connections (but it turned out the prior intern on his team went to the same college).

What did help was showing real experience on his resume that he gained at school -- he worked (academic credit only) on a research program where he got experience with a variety of data problems, working with professors across the university. He was also a TA and had prior retail work experience.

He said the only thing the hiring manager wanted to talk about was that research program.

I hire interns for my team (nearly all just apply online with no personal connections), and the resumes that get my attention highlight prior work or academic experiences that align well with our team's work. And, I like to see prior work in a regular "teen job" that shows you know how to show up on time and deal with people.

So, yes, work your connections, but also apply widely online, and find opportunities at school to build experience outside of just classes. And, if looking for colleges now, investigate how well they do at offering those kinds of experiences.

[Anonymous]

Mine is a sophomore and just applied to 40 in the last month pf so. Already had 10 responses for next steps/interview.

Used schools Handshake.
Customize letters (no AI nonsense) and try to make yourself stand out in the pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nobody gets internships by applying online. Most internship programs are filled by kids/nieces/nephews/neighbors of the people who work for the company.

Try asking around to your friends or in your neighborhood to see if there is anyone who knows your kid or your family who works in a similar industry and see if they would be willing to hand walk his resume to the person in charge of hiring interns.

That's how college kids get hired.

Unless you are talking about "interning" at small businesses, wtf are you even talking about?

You think banks, consulting companies, tech companies, etc hire their nephews and neighbor's kids?

WTF are you even talking about?

[Anonymous]

First, is it possible that he just prefers these types of summer jobs? Especially if he is graduating early, he may just have needed a break during summer.

Second, has he been to the career center. With a near perfect gpa and his activities, he is generally exactly the type of kid they like to help. However, I have looked at a lot of resumes for students who have gone to the career center and have gotten bad guidance on their resume. So, find a third party with experience to take a look at it also.

Finally, he does need to start putting himself out there asking coaches, bosses where he volunteers, and calling alumni. But, you and spouse if you have one should also be mentioning every time there is an opening "yea, my kid is looking for a summer internship. if you hear of anything let me know."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody gets internships by applying online. Most internship programs are filled by kids/nieces/nephews/neighbors of the people who work for the company.

Try asking around to your friends or in your neighborhood to see if there is anyone who knows your kid or your family who works in a similar industry and see if they would be willing to hand walk his resume to the person in charge of hiring interns.

That's how college kids get hired.

Unless you are talking about "interning" at small businesses, wtf are you even talking about?

You think banks, consulting companies, tech companies, etc hire their nephews and neighbor's kids?

WTF are you even talking about?

Yes, yes they do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody gets internships by applying online. Most internship programs are filled by kids/nieces/nephews/neighbors of the people who work for the company.

Try asking around to your friends or in your neighborhood to see if there is anyone who knows your kid or your family who works in a similar industry and see if they would be willing to hand walk his resume to the person in charge of hiring interns.

That's how college kids get hired.

Unless you are talking about "interning" at small businesses, wtf are you even talking about?

You think banks, consulting companies, tech companies, etc hire their nephews and neighbor's kids?

WTF are you even talking about?

Yes, yes they do.

NP… they do! My friend and I were discussing how our kids don’t want to use connections but it is the easiest way to get into banks, consulting, tech companies. Seeing this with Dc’s friends.