5 Tips to Making Your Internship Hunt More Successful

Written by Kaitlin Aquino

 

November 9, 2020

Finding a balance between career building and school work is never easy. But internship application season demands that we somehow do so. Unfortunately, as much as every student wants to dedicate all their time to internship hunting, there’s always an assignment to submit by 11:59 pm.

In the long, seemingly hopeless intern application process, it’s easy to get discouraged. Here are a few tips to make the grueling internship hunt a little more successful.

• Don’t copy-paste cover letters and resumes
  This one may get a few eye-rolls. But as obvious as it sounds, it can’t be stressed enough. Employers can easily tell which cover letters and resumes were general copy-pastes and which were carefully tailored to the specific company or organization they were submitted to. No employer wants to even consider a candidate who has done little to no research on the open position and the company. Use your cover letter to demonstrate how much you’ve researched the employer on top of how your skills and experience makes you the strongest candidate.

  

  (photo credit: pixelade.com)

Pro-Tip: Research the hiring managers’ name to lead cover letters with “Dear …” instead of “To Whom It May Concern.”

• Attend networking and recruiting events

One great way to get to know hiring managers personally is through attending networking and recruiting events. Research networking events in your industry and try to get as many contacts as possible. Shortly after the event is over, follow up with those connections made. Either send them a follow-up message expressing your gratitude for meeting them or ask to connect with them on LinkedIn. A few sites that feature networking events include: Eventbrite, Meetup.com, and Facebook Events.

• Cast a Wide Net

The applicant pool for internships is growing increasingly competitive. According to the Balance Careers, aim for sending in 10 to 20 internship applications every two to three weeks. This will maximize your chances of getting an interview. Once you do get a couple of interviews, you can take a less aggressive approach to applying. But remember, don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

• Triple check for typos and grammatical errors

Oftentimes, employers automatically disqualify candidates after they see a single typo, misspelling, or grammatical error on a resume or cover letter. It sounds superficial, but sending in a typo-ridden application comes off as sloppy and careless to employers. In their minds, if you can’t catch any of the mistakes in a simple resume or cover letter, how can they expect you to produce spotless, high-quality work?

 

(photo credits: pixelade.com)

Pro Tip: Have a friend, a family member, or another set of eyes to look over your resume and cover letter!

• Always send follow-ups

Sending follow-ups not only applies to connections made at networking events, but also to actual internship application submissions. Send a follow-up email a week after you submitted your application, preferably to a specific person in charge of hiring interns. Ask to confirm if they received your application materials and if they need you to send in anything else.

Searching for internships is always a struggle. But hopefully, these tips will help you land the internship you need to jumpstart your career!

 

Sources:

Forbes – https://collegeinfogeek.com/how-to-get-an-internship/

Balance Careers – https://www.thebalancecareers.com/avoid-mistakes-when-applying-for-internship-1986788

College Info Geek – https://collegeinfogeek.com/how-to-get-an-internship/

FindSpark – https://www.findspark.com/exhaustive-list-find-networking-events/

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