*let’s go, 2023!* New Year’s Resolution: Landing an Internship

I felt lucky to spend time with several of my college mentees over break, but I was surprised when I asked each of them about their upcoming summer plans, and each, in turn, responded with a blank face.?

Internships are crucial to gain experience and launching your career, and it’s important to apply early (as in, NOW). According to NACE , more than half of employers prefer full-time job applicants with internship experience. So, let's go land an internship for summer 2023! Here's what you need to do:

1?? Define Your Career Purpose

Everyone tells you to "find your purpose"—but what does this really mean? Ask yourself these three defining questions from Career Contessa :

1. What are my strengths? (Consider what you’re actually good at.)
2. What interests do I want to explore? (Create short-term goals.)
3. What do I value most in my life, right now? (Identify your guiding core values.)

In essence, you must step back, be critically honest with yourself, and develop an internship purpose statement that can guide you through your search. My fearless daughter, Olivia West , provided her case study below.

*Liv West (UPenn ‘25 | Philosophy Politics & Economics Major) Career Purpose*

1. What are my strengths? My strengths are my passion, my public speaking and writing skills, and my work ethic.?
2. What interests do I want to explore? I want to explore different political fields, such as policy research and development, and really anything that I haven’t tried before.
3. What do I value most in my life, right now? I value my rights, my education, my ability and willingness to make an impact, and my adorable dog.

Liv’s Internship Purpose Statement: To gain legislative and/or policy experience and use my knowledge and experience to not only further my own goals but create change and reform for all.

*Stay tuned to see what summer internship Liv lands!*

Note, you should rethink and revisit your career purpose often and throughout your life. As you grow and evolve, it may change!

2?? Define The Internship Type Most Suitable For You

Where are you in your career development journey? Are you “just getting started” or “ready to launch”? This will determine the type of internship you aim for.

Just getting started: Those just getting started need to explore. In this case, there is no such thing as a bad internship. Your focus should be on finding a well-rounded internship with ample supervision, ideally with training and mentorship opportunities. For example, one of our SHE WORKS ‘22 interns was a college freshman interested in either business or biology. No problem! We matched her with a rotational internship at a bank, where she had diverse assignments ranging from compliance and audit to marketing. Guess what? She learned that the bank environment wasn’t a good match for her (good to know!) but really enjoyed the marketing assignment. She will follow this summer with a nonprofit digital marketing internship.

Ready to launch: At this stage, you should be seeking experiences, relationships, and development opportunities to help launch your career. Note that if you’re interested in the fields of finance, consulting, or retail, the placement process happens on an accelerated timeline, with internships by September of junior year as a precursor to full-time offers upon graduation. Yikes! To learn more about these accelerated timelines, I reached out to Caroline Cioffi , a SHE WORKS graduate and Notre Dame '23, who has already accepted a full-time position as a Strategy Analyst at Deloitte Consulting LLP (Congratulations, Caroline!).?

“Though most recruiting for consulting internships doesn’t start until early in the fall of your junior year (note: MBB consulting is earlier), I found it helpful to start preparing over the summer. A few things I did were create a list of my top firms and their deadlines, reach out to people at the firm on LinkedIn/attend info sessions, and practice case and behavioral interviews. Even a couple of hours of work a week over the summer can help you be more prepared and feel confident going into the fall recruiting season.”

Other fields operate at a more traditional hiring pace, allowing more time for exploration (whew!). During your junior/senior years, you should seek an internship in an environment that you believe aligns with where you’d want to be upon graduation.

3?? Prepare Your Internship Portfolio

Be sure that your paperwork reflects your best self! A creative cover letter and a powerful resume are necessary to make a good first impression. I highly recommend having someone review your paperwork. Sign-up here for a SHE WORKS mentor to review your resume and definitely use these action verbs to supercharge your resume.?

Alison Waller , LiveGirl’s Director of Career Readiness, has a brilliant checklist for preparing the career portfolio that you can view here .?

4?? Apply Early and Often

The last step is to get organized, search and make a list of possible internships (with deadlines), and apply early and often! Visit your college career center, leverage your network, and look at LinkedIn, GenHired, or other job boards. Personally, I encourage you to consider and apply to SHE WORKS , which provides career readiness training and a paid internship. Additionally, this program has the unique added benefit of arming you with a community-based learning cohort and mentor. If you’re interested in SHE WORKS, don’t wait! The application is now open and matches are made on a rolling basis. (Deadline is March 15th.)

Remember that as (Career Contessa Founder) Lauren McGoodwin explains,

The "dream job" doesn't really exist. That's why we're advocates of the "good enough job." In this case, a ‘good enough internship’ is one that aligns with your interests and values and provides skill development.

The bottom line, internships are critical in building your career foundation. You’ll hone skills and build relationships that will help you launch. *So, get career ready, set, and launch!*

Ladies, I am here if you need anything! Drop me a line below or DM me. Also, pretty please pay it forward and share this newsletter with your network. Let's pull up more chairs to the table for women, please. XO, Sheri

?? Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

?? Michelle Obama's fashion declaration of independence .

?? Time Magazine Names Iranian Women As Heroes of 2022:

These brave, badass women and their allies are awe-inspiring. Learn more here .