There are lots of ways to find a college internship, but based on my experience they all fall into one of three categories:
College Internship Method #1 – Contact your college or university career office. They frequently have a listing of different companies in the area that hire interns. They can also tell you if they offer paid internships or not.
The advantage of this method is you don’t have to work very hard to land your college internship; the disadvantage is that you’re coming in the door as “a number.” You’re part of the program and you will be forgettable until you make a name for yourself.
College Internship Method #2 – Ask your parents, neighbors, or relatives for help. Chances are you know a lot of people who already work in your chosen field and they may even have job openings for college internships. This is certainly my favorite method for landing summer internships for college students, since unless you’re going to school near home, it’s unlikely that your college career office will have any good job openings for you’re to consider.
The advantage of this method is you’re likely to land a paid internship and someone will be watching out for you on the job. The disadvantage is that it smacks of privilege; your new coworkers may resent you and never give you a chance to prove yourself.
College Internship Method #3 – Another one of my favorite methods is to simply start calling the president or local general manager of the company you’d like to work for and ask them for a college internship. It sounds crazy, but the reality is that top executives love respectfully aggressive young people. If you do your homework and can take about their company and why you’d love to work there, you’ll be even more impressive.
The disadvantage to this method is that you have to do more work and face the fear of rejection. The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. You pick the companies you want to work for, the big boss knows who you are before you even get there, and you have a reputation as a go-getter, which is always a good thing!
This is the only way to find the best college internship for you.
You can also read articles from Dave Horne at www.careersecretsauce.com
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Dave Horne
