Scoring a Summer Internship in Uncertain Times

In our new environment, where on-site internship opportunities for this summer will be less common than in the past, and where internship programs are taking a backseat to more immediate corporate concerns, it is important to consider shifting gears away from traditional marquee employers and focusing primarily on developing opportunities that provide relevant experience, regardless of industry or brand name. Below are a few tips to create opportunities for a meaningful summer experience, even in a world of tremendous uncertainty:

1)  Be opportunistic. At this stage, don’t focus as much on landing the fancy 10-week internship on-site in a job that is perfectly aligned with your long-term career goals. That is not likely to happen in the next few weeks.  Rather, consider industries and companies that may have expanded or are experiencing increased demands as a result of the pandemic and stay at home orders. For example, think about potential opportunities with companies that are based on line, companies in or connected to the healthcare, pharmaceutical or insurance industries or other businesses that can maintain operations or may have heightened demand in this environment, even if these are not the industries you might have considered pre-pandemic. You may even want to consider checking the stock market for ideas and as a potential barometer for which companies and industry sectors, based on recent market performance, are more likely to recover quicker or even see growth from the dynamics of the current marketplace.

2)  Don’t worry about geography. Who are your core contacts? Think about parents, extended family, friends of parents, friends’ parents, business partners of your core contacts, former colleagues, golfing friends etc. Do they have or know of any opportunities? In this environment, internships are increasingly likely to be remote and, as a result, geography becomes almost unimportant, opening many doors to contacts you might otherwise not have been able to leverage before. Think about ways you can be of service to people in your network, irrespective of geography. Find people who are very committed to you (or your family), and see if there are opportunities for a remote experience. And speaking of ways to be of service…

3)  Consider designing your own internship. One of the advantages of finding opportunities from people in your existing network in an uncertain environment is that you may be able to suggest or design your own role. Employers are stressed and have immediate operational and financial considerations to attend to. Internships are likely low priority right now to employers. But if you can find ways to add value, even for five or six weeks, and can communicate to employers what you might be able to do for them, employers may be much more willing to engage. Think about suggesting project-based roles, where you might be able to research, analyze, evaluate from home, prepare spreadsheets, consider data, or perform comparable or competitor research. Maybe you can reach out on their behalf to prospective customers or assist in reimagining or adjusting marketing content in the new environment. Or maybe there are back office or accounting-based functions that you could do from home. Employers may need assistance with software utilization or graphically presenting material. If you can find potential roles that are useful to the employer and not difficult for them to manage (i.e. have a plan that makes it easy for them!), you may find employers excited at the potential for help. As a side note, some employers have expressed security concerns about providing you at home access to their computer systems or that you may inadvertently download company documents to your home computer. Think about ways you might be able to help them without accessing their computer systems directly.

4)  Be flexible as to salary. Times are tough, and money is tight. If you are able to live at home and can work this summer without being paid, that may increase the likelihood of convincing an employer that you can serve a productive and useful role. Most schools, including Toppel at the University of Miami, have programs where you can receive one credit for your unpaid internship experience. Check with your school as to opportunities for credit.

Although conditions this summer may not be ideal, there are still opportunities to gain useful experience. But garnering a summer opportunity may require you to be creative and flexible in your approach. This summer, any experience that helps you build relevant skills and solid bullets for your resume is a win. Don’t give up on scoring a win!

Dr. Mark Shapiro is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice in Business Law and Academic Director of Career Resources for the Miami Herbert Business School. From 1997-2015, he was a partner at the law firm of Akerman LLP, a national law firm of more than 700 lawyers, and practiced as a litigator in the areas of insurance coverage and bad faith, ERISA and contract/tort disputes. He also served as Akerman's National Associate Development Partner, responsible for coordinating the development, training, mentoring, compensation and promotion of Akerman's associate lawyers and responsible for hiring and management of Akerman's Summer Program for law students.