Internship/Job Search

Hello all, my name is Lauren and I am a Career Assistant at the Career Development Center. I am a junior this year and like many of you, I have to start my search for an internship. The plan is that the internship will go well and that I love the business that I am at, and they will offer me a position upon my graduation. It is possible, however, a lot of times an internship opens your eyes to what you like or don’t like about a particular industry or career and whether or not you really want to pursue that particular position. Also, searching and landing an internship or job isn’t exactly easy in our current economic standing. I am going to run down some tips that will help you in the, sometimes overwhelming, experience of internship and job searching.
I’m going to start with internship searching, because you are going to look for internship positions before you are going to have to search for a job. However, there are a couple things you should know about internships first. There are internships available that are paid and unpaid, full-time or part-time, summer, spring, or fall; so you should research a particular internship opportunity to make sure that it fits your particular needs. Also, internships can be for credit or non-credit, keep that in mind if you get a position that you don’t particularly want. All the experience that you gain is going to set you apart when it comes time to job search.
If you are like me, you are probably wondering “When should I start looking for an internship for the summer?” Well, the sooner the better. You should start by making rough drafts of a resume and cover letter during the fall semester. Also, start doing research on companies that you are interested in. Some important information that you need to find is: the name of the person you send your resume to, company address and opportunities available. You are going to want to also send out your resume, cover letter and application materials to companies that may not have internship positions advertised or listed. About two weeks after you send your materials, you are going to want to follow up with all the companies you applied to. This will show the business that you are really interested in the position and that you are willing to take initiative.
Job searching is a very similar process to internship searching. Just like internship searching, job searching takes time. On average it takes 3 to 5 months to find a full-time job that is if you are dedicating 20 to 40 hours a week to searching. If not, it will take you longer than the 3 to 5 month range. Some things that you can do for yourself is to schedule time just for your job search. Reflect on what you want in a position, what your ideal career or job would be, key skills, etc. Also get information on jobs in the career path that you have chosen to help narrow down what kinds of positions you want to do.
All of this information is available in greater detail at the Career Development Center. We have helpful guides for internship/job searching, as well as guides on how to write resumes, how to write cover letters and how to work on interviewing skills. There are also books available as resources for different careers and job positions to a particular area you may be interested in. If you have any questions, I urge you to stop in the CDC and talk to a Career Specialist. Also, there are Career Assistants available to critique resumes and cover letters. Please also take advantage of CSO, which is an internship/job searching tool available to AU students on the Career Development page. Use these tools for a successful search, and don’t be afraid to ask questions!

Lauren Bernath