Careers

It's never too late to find an internship

By Burt Nadler, Career Center director

Inspired by parent phone calls, a few e-mails and some “my car is packed and I’m ready to go home, so how do I find an internship” in-person student requests, I wanted to share insights as well as strategies. There is no date past which internships cannot be attained. If you perceive internships as affirmative answers to networking queries, as we do, you will agree that internships can be found at any time during the summer (really any time throughout the year) and result from communication, not simply application efforts.

Students and recent grads begin internship search by stating what type of internship is desired and where (geographically and functionally) they want to intern. Transforming statements like “something major-related” and or “an economics or English internship,” into language of the worlds of work is essential, although difficult for some. Research before the internship search is required of goal-setting, expression, and attainment. To assist with efforts to express goals that can be transformed into step by step efforts, undergraduates looking for internships and, yes, graduates who seek post-bac internships must understand the three Fs, “fields, functions and firms,” and act upon the four Ps, “postings, places, people and programs,” in order to ultimately yield success.

Internship goals must be expressed using the three Fs.
Internship seekers answers to the following reveal your goals.
Targeted resumes, cover letters, networking notes and follow up communiqués reflect the three Fs.

Fields: What career fields (more than one is fine) you are interested in? What fields have you identified as related to your major, minor, cluster, or career curiosity?

Functions: What can you do within fields of interest? What internship titles and, most important, functions are associated with fields? Can you describe what one does in these fields?

Firms: What are some companies or organizations you can intern for?

Acting upon the four Ps will ultimately yield an internship offer.
A comprehensive campaign that involves all four enhances your chances of success.

Postings: There are many posting sites, including CareerLink, CareerShift, NIC, as well as company Web sites. Find and use them effectively, but don’t limit yourself to these resources. E-mail and arrange a phone appointment with a Career Center counselor to become informed about the posting resources we offer. Postings are responded to via resume and “letter of application.” Counselors can revise these documents via e-mail and help you create as many targeted documents as you have field and function focused goals. We do have many “parent and alumni connected postings” within our CareerLink system, so please learn how to access these and how best to apply to all postings.

Places: Online resources including CareerLink, CareerShift, Google Search, printed directories of “top firms,” and Vault.com can help internship seekers identify a “hit list” of firms to contact using geographic as well as field and functional criteria. Direct contact with these firms, often via senior managers within functional areas of interest; not necessarily human resources, is strategically sound and often successful.

People: Contact individuals via “networking notes,” or phone calls and seek consideration, advice, or referrals. A Career Center counselor can share how best to use the Rochester Career Advisory Network, LinkedIn, and other resources. Professors, family, friends, previous employers, as well as alumni are truly amazing “contacts” that can lead to internships. Food for Thought summer programs that connect students to alumni and parents can be first steps, with follow up communications yielding internship offers. Affirmative responses to communiqués similar to the one below do yield internship offers.

I am very interested in your CITE FIELD, FUNCTION AND FIRM. After you review the accompanying resume I hope you find me worthy of consideration for an internship, referrals, advice or, simply, career information. An internship for me would involve shadowing someone within CITE FUNCTION, completing as many special projects as I can, and also serving in administrative support roles. While payment would be appreciated, and is much needed, I would be happy to volunteer as little as ten hours per week and as much as forty hours per week.

Are there any special projects you or your colleagues might wish to complete over the next few weeks or months? Would you let me shadow you one day per week and provide administrative support on other days? Is there someone else you would encourage me to contact? If no internship consideration or referrals are appropriate, can we meet so I can conduct a brief information conversation and learn about your career biography?

Programs: Pre- and post-bac internship and academic programs are options to explore. Examples include: University of Dreams, Washington Center for Internships, Masa Israel, and IES, and many, many more. Don’t let the date on the calendar, deadlines appearing on their Web sites, or price tags associated with these programs deter you from at least sending e-mails to learn about these offerings.

And, do think about taking at least one “function-focused” course over the summer, even if you do not transfer the credit to University of Rochester. Supplemental academics prove powerful learning experiences, resume entries, and focal points for future internship and job search success.

Any questions about internship search, please e-mail me at bnadler@mail.rochester.edu.