Is it to late to start interning?

Hi Marissa!

It is not too late to try for internships.

Here are some tips. You have a great amount of control over this and you can even create you own.

During my daughter's senior year of high school, the highlight of the year was to be an internship. Everyone submitted their request and waited (except for one girl). My daughter did not get her first request and the second one was a flop. From what I heard, the only one who found that it was the highlight of her year was the girl who did not wait for an assignment, but created her own. She is planning on becoming a doctor, so she decided that she wanted her internship to be with an EMS unit, so you worked with the local EMS unit and her school to create her own - and it was a great one. She took control and made it the highlight of her high school experience. You can do the same in your situation.

Here are some tips that you can use in seeking a job and seeking and/or creating your own internship.

I would like to share some tips that I have found to be helpful from my years in human resources, college recruiting, and teaching and coaching networking.

Don't depend on electronic means as a primary way to go through the process. We are getting away from the person to person process and losing out on the personal interaction which allows for real time exchange and sharing of personality traits and thoughts through dialogue. We need to get back to basics.

Step 1 - Get to know yourself better. The most frustrating times spent while doing college recruiting, were the times when a graduate, once on the job, found that he/she did not like the job for which he/she had studied, as he/she had not done enough investigation. Selecting a career is like buying a pair of shoes. They may look great, but you need to try them on and wear them for a while to determine proper fit and comfort.
https://www.themuse.com/advice/14-free-personality-tests-thatll-help-you-figure-yourself-out

Step 2 - Learn and use networking. 80% of people who find jobs find them through networking - and many of those are never posted. Here are some suggestions
http://www.wikihow.com/Network
https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1
https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-job-search-strategy-thatll-make-you-15-times-more-likely-to-be-hired

Step 3 - Use natural connections for effective networking:
- talk to the head of alumni relations at your school to arrange to talk to graduates in your area of interest who are near you and doing what you thing that you want to do so you can see what they are doing, how they got there, what advice they have, and how you feel about it.
- talk to the reference librarian at your local library to locate and attend meetings of professional organizations in your area to which professionals in your area of interest belong so you can mix and mingle and learn from them. Many times these organizations know of or even sponsor internships and coop programs and other career exploration opportunities.

Step 4 - Follow up each application and interview. Use a simple fold over thank you card that you can get at a drug store to hand write a thank you note for each person you have met when going through the application and interview process. Mail the card soon after the session and make a follow up call three days later.
A. The card:
- mention something meaningful that you remember from the meeting
- emphasize that you feel that you could use your skills, abilities, and experience to help his/her company achieve his goals
- state that you would like to follow up with a phone call in a few days to inquire about the next step in the interview process (always assume that there is a next step)
B. The follow up call (you can get though the screener as you can say that he/she is expecting your call to follow up the interview)
- thank him/her for the opportunity to talk about helping his/her company
- ask if there anything else that he/she would find to be helpful to know about you
- ask about the next step in the process

Here are some follow up tips. Remember, if it talks about using email, I have found face to face interaction (or secondly phone) follow up to be far superior, because it allows for dialogue:
https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-following-up-can-help-you-land-the-job https://www.themuse.com/advice/pleasantly-persistent-5-rules-for-effectively-following-up

Here are some good tips for applying for things for which you feel underqualified: https://www.themuse.com/advice/should-you-apply-for-a-job-youre-not-qualified-for https://www.themuse.com/advice/actually-you-should-apply-for-jobs-youre-not-100-qualified-for

Best of luck! Let me know if and how this might help. Keep me posted. I would like to follow your progress.

Hi Marissa! Great question. It is absolutely not too late. You are doing the right thing - you are in college, working in a positive direction towards your future, and thinking about internships which will help build your skillset. I would recommend you talk to your professors and academic advisers for suggestions, research companies in your industry of interest for opportunities, and check with professional associations in your desired career field for internships. Be diligent, steadfast, and don’t allow no“s” to stop you. Stay determined, focused and positive.

As an internship manager, I can tell you that it is absolutely not too late. The other advisers on this stream are all correct. Another resource for you is your campus career center. Have them help you with your resume, your Linkedin profile and to identify employers that partner with the campus, searching for interns.

Your major's department will be another great resource - they have likely helped hundreds of students over the years find internships.

Good luck!

Christina

It is not too late! Most companies will recruit in the Fall for Summer 2018 internships. Make sure to apply then so you can land a good summer internship for next year.

Hi:

It is never to late even if you cant find an internship until your senior year. Do not pass up good opportunity if you can get that experience jump on it as it will help your resume and improve your chances of getting an entry level job out of college.