As winter quarter comes to an end, it’s time to start looking for a summer internship and the Career Resource Center and career counselors are just the resources students can look to for help.
The career counselors and Careers Resource Center (part of Career Services) help students with all the parts of the internship process from preparing résumés and cover letters to actually finding an internship that meets their needs. Career counselor Amie Hammond has some helpful tips for students as they search for the perfect internship.
Be prepared
“Make sure (your) résumé is the best presentation of (you) that it can be,” Hammond said.
Students should also fine-tune their interview skills and have someone look over their cover letter and résumé. Hammond advises students to use the resources available to them and never assume their résumé or cover letter is fine as it is. The career counselors can help with interview techniques and what kinds of questions to ask.
Take advantage of job fairs
Cal Poly has campus-wide job fairs every quarter, but specialized fairs are also available. For example, an Education, Government and Non-Profit job fair will be held in March for the first time. This will be particularly useful for students not majoring in engineering or business majors who are typically heavily represented at campus-wide job fairs, Hammond said.
Access Mustang Jobs
Mustang Jobs is Cal Poly’s online job database and available through My Cal Poly Portal. Once students register, they are able to look for jobs (full-time, part-time and local) and internships.
“The nice thing with Mustang Jobs is you can access it at anytime and also it’s employers that are specifically coming to us and saying, ‘we’re looking for a Cal Poly student,'” Hammond said.
Other helpful Web sites researched by the career counselors are available at the Career Services Web site (careerservices.calpoly.edu) which give examples of résumés as well as links to jobs in specific industries.
Use faculty resources
Tell your professors that you’re looking for an internship so they’ll be sure to notify you if they hear anything. Otherwise they might never think to tell you about an opportunity that comes to their attention.
Also, when colleges send out e-mails about internships, read them. You never know what might be in them or what you could be missing out on, Hammond advised.
Be flexible
One of the biggest ways students can put themselves at a disadvantage is to limit themselves to internships in their hometown or in San Luis Obispo.
“Be open to another city, another state even,” Hammond said. “Go where the opportunities exist. It’s three months out of your life, or out of your year, and it could be a really good opportunity to see what else is out there.”
Hammond said she doesn’t know specifically about internship opportunities being less due to the economy, but jobs are down and so it would make sense that there might not be as many internships available, especially paid internships. If a student is flexible with pay, or even willing to go unpaid, this can make a difference in obtaining a position.
Look in areas that aren’t an exact match to your field of interest but could still help you build valuable skills.
“There are still opportunities out there,” Hammond said. “People need to be a little bit more creative and open-minded about what they’re looking for.”
Start Now
It’s never too early to start looking for an internship even if it won’t take place for a year, Hammond says. Start researching companies and positions and preparing résumés and cover letters. The earlier you start, the more time you have to prepare.
Avoid Common Mistakes
Hammond said one of the most common mistakes she sees with students is in their cover letters and interviews. The students make it about what they want, but the company knows that you’re interested in the company because it will be a great experience. She says students should think about the company and why they should be interested in you.
“(Students) need to focus on, in your interview and in your cover letter… conveying to them, ‘Here’s what I have to offer you, here’s how I’m going to benefit your company,” Hammond said.
Use the Career Resource Center
The Career Resource Center, located in the Career Services building, is a place counselors often direct students in search of internships. A wide variety of materials are available, from internship and employer directories (by field and location) to lists of alumni by major that students can call and talk to. Books contain information on volunteer opportunities around the world and computers allow Internet access to any information.
Career counselor Charlotte Rinaldi said that not many students seem to know about the resource center even though they constantly present to students during Week of Welcome and in classes.
“It’s really cool,” Rinaldi said. “The internship directories are a blast to look through.”
She encourages students to look through the alumni listings because “the best way to get an internship is through alumni contacts.” Hammond had a student who got an internship by contacting an alumnus whose company didn’t have a program but created one for the student.
The center is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and staffed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Both Hammond and Rinaldi said students are welcome to stop by to get quick help, but the best way is to make an appointment with a counselor.
Even if a major doesn’t require an internship, Hammond said students should complete one. When she gets back questionnaires from alumni asking what advice they would give to current students, one piece always seems to be repeated.
“The vast majority say ‘do an internship, do an internship,'” Hammond said. “It really is worthwhile and it can help either clarify your career interest… or it can help you decide that maybe you don’t want to do that and you can try something else.”