The Internship Search: Tips for Landing Your Ideal Role

Internships. This word strikes some fear in the heart of many students, especially those studying business. From orientation to graduation, faculty and staff push us towards finding internships, and rightfully so. Internships are integral in understanding how the business world works and gaining experience in your desired field.

Starting to search for internships can seem daunting, but not impossible. Here are some tips on how to find an internship that works best for you!

Start on Campus

Your campus likely provides many opportunities for you to get involved and learn more about your field of interest. For most majors, there is a club that allows you to gain experience while you are on campus. 

Many clubs will bring in speakers to talk to students about working in the industry. These "Panel Events" are a fantastic way to get connected with people working in your field who can connect you to the places you want to intern at.

Another vital thing to consider is the on-campus job fairs! With this opportunity, recruiters are literally coming to you. I know many people who went to a job fair and ended up with an internship or full-time offer, all because they took an hour out of their day to network and learned about the different companies at the fair!

Focus on Your Resume

Your resume is often all your employers will see before they invite you for an interview. It can be your greatest asset or weakness in getting an interview. Your resume must show not only what you've done, but how the lessons learned in your jobs and involvement transfers into an internship position. Be sure to use your numbers to drive your results on a resume. Did you do an email marketing campaign for work? Put the open and click-through rate on your resume. Were you a camp counselor over the summer? List how many kids you led and the size of the team you worked with. These results will help put your resume over the top!

Campus involvement also helps to set you apart from other candidates on your resume. As you involve yourself with ANY student organization (doesn't need to be major-related), you show your potential employer that you are a well-rounded candidate. Combine campus involvement with a high GPA, and you show employers that you can manage your time effectively.

Are you struggling with perfecting your resume? Visit a career office on campus, like Kelley Indianapolis Career Services, and have the staff take a look at your resume!

Speak with People in the Positions You Want

One of the best things you can do to set yourself apart is to network yourself and do it well. The way I found most beneficial the process of informational interviews. Click here to see an article on what an informational interview is and why it can be a game-changer for your career!

The best way to start the process is by talking to your parents. Talking to my parents? What do my parents have to do with this? Many times, students don't know people in the field they are interested in, especially as a first-year student in college. When I decided to pursue marketing, I asked my parents whom we knew in marketing, and surprisingly, we knew many people! Another great way to connect with people in the field is by asking faculty on campus who they may be able to connect you with. Be sure to thank them for all their help!

With my list of people in hand, I emailed, called, and even Facebook messaged people asking to meet with me for informational interviews. I interviewed people in both corporate and agency marketing with job titles like account manager, market researcher, sales, and even the CEO of a marketing agency!

Not only did this broad category of people help me develop an idea of what I wanted to do in marketing, but it was also a great networking opportunity. Now, if you get called into an interview, you could have someone on the inside fighting for you!

Keep Trying

There will be a lot of rejection. Don't take it personally. Either you weren't what they needed right now, or there is something even better coming along. I know that rejection hurts, especially from a company you really wanted to work at. Trust me, I've been there.

Be proactive, start early, and never stop trying!

Want to know what to do when you finally get the interview? Stay tuned for another blog post!

Article Written by Hannah B.

Hannah will begin an internship in January at Delta Faucet Company as the Brand Marketing and PR intern. She is currently a junior majoring in Marketing and International Studies. She is the VP of Marketing for IMPACT, where she runs the social media and outreach efforts for the organization. After graduation, Hannah hopes to receive a full-time position where her analytic and creative skills will transfer into a role in brand management, PR, and consumer behavior marketing.