Tips for Internship Season

If you are currently in school, don’t miss out on one of the biggest opportunities of the year: summer internship recruiting begins now!

Many corporate employers use internships as a primary method for identifying entry-level hires for full-time positions, and will continue to hire interns in a down economy so that they can develop a pipeline of potential full-time hires for the future. According to annual surveys conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the percentage of interns converted to full-time employees increased from 35% in 2001 to 50% in 2008, with almost 70% of interns receiving full-time offers in 2008.

For many years, I worked in campus Career Services offices connecting students and employers. In the process, I developed a few observations on how students can best prepare:

If you haven’t started already, this is a great week to begin. Many campuses don’t open for spring term until mid-to-late January, but a majority of staff at Career Offices will be back on the job before the term starts. If your school offers individual counseling appointments or resume critique services, now is a great time to beat the rush and prepare. If you’d like outside help, you may also want to consider hiring a resume writer or career coach—but keep in mind that you will need to follow resume guidelines set by your campus.

Research potential opportunities. Given the high conversion rate of interns to full-time employees, look at your internship as a test drive for work beyond graduation. As such, it is important to carefully evaluate opportunities. Read about career fields, position types, and determine the best work environment for you.

After you've determined areas of interest, research employers to create a short list of ideal organizations and apply for multiple opportunities. Don’t limit yourself to only those employers who are interviewing on-campus—consider other positions as well . (In addition to your campus internship database, check out company websites and aggregators including indeed.com.)

Discount the myth that no one reads cover letters. Competition can be stiff, and employers often use cover letters to assess your writing skills and your level of interest. When comparing applications from similarly qualified candidates, employers often pick the candidate with the strongest cover letter to advance to the next round.

Show that you understand the position and industry. Contrary to popular myth, employers don’t always use GPA and major as the first screening criteria when evaluating internship applications. A little research on current company initiatives, products, or work environment can go a long way. News aggregators (e.g. Google News Alerts, RSS Feeds) and research tools such as Hoovers, Lexis-Nexis, and Factiva can help you quickly find items worth mentioning. (You may also want to look for key indicators on company health and performance—factors that can help you assess your long-term employment prospects.)

Develop your application from the employer’s perspective. In most organizations, employers scan application materials quickly to seek answers to the following questions:

• How did you learn of this position?
• How do your skills and experience align with the job description?
• Why are you interested in the position? How does it fit in with your long-term goals?
• Why do you want to work for us? (What interests you about our company versus our competition?)

(Quick tip to ensure you’ve written from the employer’s perspective: Count the number of sentences in your cover letter, than the number that start with “I.” Aim for less than 50% of sentences to begin with you.)

These strategies will help you “stand out” in the applicant pool while also demonstrating how you “fit in” to the organization for whom you wish to work.

Have any additional tips for success or stories of strategies that worked? If yes, please share...

Comments

[Barbara Safani]

The Vault Guide to Top Internships is a good resource and reasonably priced.

[ThomasAW]

Excellent article. I agree that it's a must to 'discount the myth' of not using a cover letter. These are indeed professional and give you an edge. Another edge is reading other interns reviews and ratings on a site like Ultimateintern.com

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