Building Summer Job Skills and Connections
By Lora Rosenblum, Senior, University of Pennsylvania
There is no doubt that finding a summer internship or job is a lot of work, but that doesn’t mean that it needs to be a stressful experience. In fact, there are plenty of ways that you can get ahead in the summer job search now so that you’re well prepared when the time to submit résumés, draft cover letters, and land an interview comes around.
A survey conducted by Student Health 101 reported that almost half of students feel that January is not too early to begin the internship search. In fact, getting ahead will in all likelihood boost your odds of securing an internship that is right for you.
Jon Beagan, a senior at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, who is studying biomedical engineering, began his job hunt during the second semester of his junior year by devoting an average of two hours per week to the task. He ended up spending his summer working in research and development at a major healthcare supply company.
“In January and February, I spent most of my ‘job search’ time searching for positions and preparing cover letters. I was also applying to some programs that required essays and letters of recommendation, which each take a long time.”
One of the advantages to beginning to look into opportunities early on is to maximize the number of places to which you apply—and hear back from.
“Start applying early, but don’t get discouraged if you don’t get anything quickly; there are plenty of places that wait until the very end [of the school year] to find someone,” says Beagan.
Know Your Own Story
In order to start the process by the beginning of second semester, it is crucial that you have an understanding about who you are so that you can adequately convey your skills and talents to potential employers.
Geni Harclerode, a career counselor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, says that she and her colleagues tell students that knowing their “story” is one of the most important first steps on the path to finding a summer internship or job.
“Once students understand the story they want to tell, they are then able to convey it in the form of a résumé, cover letter, or interview,” says Harclerode.
Panicked because you may not have experience in writing résumés and cover letters? You are not alone. Many students sought help with first-time résumé and cover letter crafting through sources such as the Internet, family, and a school career services center.
Take Advantage of Online Help
Sam Tichnor, a senior finance major at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, consulted both the Internet and friends for help with his résumé and ended up with a summer internship at a major financial institution.
“I was not too versed with the résumé and cover letter game,” Tichnor says. ”I prepared my résumé using a template from a career prep site. I also talked to friends in the industry to give me tips on what they look for in a résumé.”
Similarly, Hallie Sacks, a journalism and environmental studies double major at American University in Washington, DC, looked at Internet templates in order to develop the cover letters she wrote. Her summer internship took place at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Tap Into Career Center Resources
Sacks acknowledges how useful the on-campus career center was in her internship search.
“The career center at my school [was] really helpful in preparing my résumé,” she recalls. And it’s never too early to start making one.
Remember, career services is your ally. Harclerode indicated that many career services centers on college campuses aim to establish themselves as a “partner” in the internship search process.
“We like to think of ourselves as coaches,” she says. “We try to blend being purpose-driven and passion-driven in wanting students to find something that really satisfies them in a deeply personal way.”
With their bountiful resources, career services are equipped to guide you through each step of the way.
A Constant Search
Ellen, a senior manufacturing and design engineering major at Northwestern University in Chicago, appreciated the help of her career center because they were constantly in touch with companies that were recruiting.
“It’s hard not to feel overwhelmed by the billions of career services e-mails, but that’s ultimately how I found my job,” she recalls.
Tichnor also credits his summer internship to his campus career center, through which he first found out about the opening.
Plenty of students use career services for finding positions and receiving résumé and cover letter assistance, and they are also a great way to sharpen interview skills.
Of her own experience using career services for interview preparation, Ellen recalls: “The career center composed a list of questions that you are likely to be asked during an interview. That was really helpful. It’s important to do some sort of mock interview because it’s very different than merely thinking about what you would hypothetically say.”
Mock Interviews Pay Off
Margie Cartwright, who works at the Tulane University Career Management Center in New Orleans, emphasizes the importance of mock interviews.
“Mock interviews are useful because students forget that the way an answer may sound when they practice in their head is very different from the way the answer sounds when they articulate it. The process of talking through answers helps students figure out if that answer is going to make sense and resonate with an employer, and it also helps with nerves.”
Perhaps most importantly, students should remember that the summer internship or job can be a rewarding learning tool that can be used to shape your goals for the future.
While Ellen doesn’t think she will pursue a full-time position at the company where she interned, she is pleased that she was able to figure out the kind of work environment in which she hopes to work in the near future.
Overall, remember that every element of the summer internship and job search process is a learning experience. The bottom line: if you get started early and take advantage of the resources available to you, you’ll be on the right track for an exciting summer learning experience, saving yourself a great deal of stress along the way!
LORA ROSENBLUM IS A STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA STUDYING HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT AND FRENCH. IN HER FREE TIME, SHE ENJOYS DISTANCE RUNNING, PLAYING WITH HER KINDLE, AND EXPLORING VEGAN CUISINE IN NEW CITIES.
Find Out More
Click for a great list of tips for finding your summer job or internship from The New School.
Click for more great tips about finding an internship from The College Board.
Click for more great summer job and internship tips from Colorado College's Career Center.
