The internship search process can seem daunting to incoming college students. Jacqueline, a student at Cornell, offers her advice on how to pursue and secure the internship of your dreams, even as a young student!
Last summer I interned with the largest clean-tech and energy startup accelerator in the world. While there, I gained experience working in a high-pressure atmosphere where I was constantly tasked with complex projects with tight deadlines. At the accelerator I liaised with cleantech and venture capital professionals to assist in operating the program. The keystone project of my summer was a 4-month long comprehensive data collection and analysis project that involved interviewing over 100 contacts from alumni companies. Whether I was engaging with entrepreneurs, maintaining communications with partners, or building brand awareness through press outreach, I had to work efficiently, find creative solutions to problems and pay close attention to detail.
The internship search process is now just as competitive as the full-time job search process. The key is to start early. Start searching for an internship in the fall of the year before the summer you want to intern and fully utilize the services available at your school’s career services office. At Cornell we have a large alumni base and therefore many of these alumni post job and intern positions on our career website, making it easy to search for and apply to positions. However, you must be diligent and expect more rejections than acceptances - the job hunt is a lot different than the college application process. You need to be an active applicant, reach out to as many alumni at the company you are applying to and learn as much as you can about the firm in order to best prepare for interviews. And finally, be prepared for multiple rounds of interviews, in fields like banking and consulting you could speak with 10-15 people before you are offered a job!
Read more of Jacqueline’s advice on her AdmitSee Profile!
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