The arrival of February brings about a vitally important time in the school year. That’s right, it’s summer internship hunting time. For me, it’s a time to bundle up indoors and daydream about warmer days– and hopefully interning in California. It’s time to get your game face on and the blizzard this past weekend presented the perfect opportunity to get myself organized and begin what I like to think of as my own personal version of the amazing race.
Having been a transfer student, I feel a bit behind when it comes to seeking out internships. However, the best thing I have found to do in such circumstances (if you’re like me and have never had an internship) is to research, research, research.
BU and COM both provide numerous services and workshops to help you with resumes, cover letters, and your overall search. Every week the Center of Career Development, located in 100 BSR, sends out an e-mail about their different career building workshops, so be sure to look out for those! Last week I attended one of their resume workshops and they were really helpful. COM career services also offers resume and cover letter reviews daily- check out the @comugrad twitter handle for more information or visit the career services website. You can also view samples of resumes and cover letters.
To find internships online that are available through COM, check out The Career Insider. This database is a gold mine. You will have to create an account through the website but after that you will have full access to everything it has to offer. I personally used it as a basis for my internship search, typing “publicity internship” for the keyword and an LA zipcode, which brought me to a list of numerous summer opportunities at companies such as The Walt Disney Studios and NBCUniversal.
Because of my highly organized, type A personality, I also chose to make a list of all the internships I want to apply for along with individual requirements, descriptions, documents to submit, and addresses with contact information. This helps me when it comes time to personalize cover letters and figure out whom I need to send references or transcripts too. Also make sure you research the different companies you’re applying for! This is extremely important when it comes to writing a cover letter or an essay so that you can really mold the descriptions of your experiences and accomplishments around exactly what their company stands for and what they are looking for in their next intern.
Of course you can always look outside of BU for summer internships as well, using the ever-so-glorious Google or other resources you can find. One website I have heard a lot of positive feedback about is Intern Sushi which I’m just starting to explore. Another website is Intern Queen powered by Lauren Berger who completed 15 internships during her college years. She regularly tweets about different internship opportunities as well @InternQueen, and has published a book entitled “All work, No Pay” which gives her perspective on how to build your resume, make connections and gain job experience.
I guess overall my point is just to explore your options! There are a lot of resources out there to aid you in the overwhelming process that is your first internship hunt, it doesn’t have to be as stressful as competing on The Amazing Race. You’re putting yourself in the best position possible by doing your research and getting organized.
Good luck everyone! And maybe the odds be ever in your favor 🙂
