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How can I find internships? They aren't posted online. So, should I just cold email?

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Ken’s Answer

Finding an internship is among the important things that you want to do as early as you can in your education/career journey. I will outline the important steps to follow that will lead up to internships. Starting with getting to know yourself to make sure that you are on the most suitable career track for you.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ## It is through this step that you can use interpersonal networking to start to locate internships.
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ## These professional associations many times know of or sponsor internships making them a great source of interpersonal networking for internships.
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
Let me share an interesting story about internships: During my daughter's senior year in high school, the highlight of the year (and of the whole high school experience) was to be a several month long internship program. Everyone signed up and indicated the type of internship that they wanted - all except for one girl. This girl wanted to become a doctor and wanted her internship to be with the local EMS unit at the local fire station. So, she talked to the head of the EMS unit and got his approval and made arrangements with the school to create her own internship. Of all of the students about which I heard, she was the one who benefited the most by her internships. My daughter's was definitely not the highlight of her school career. Her first choice fell through and her final assignment was not really what she wanted and did not give her the type of exposure that she had hoped for. This shows that you can create your own internship! Locate a company that fits the parameters of the type of experience and exposure that you are seeking and work with them and the appropriate people in your school to put it in motion. After all, if there is an internship program existing today, anywhere, it had to be created by someone.
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Rafael A.’s Answer

Fastweb.com has some internship opportunities on their site that may be of use. Also look at a company companies that you value and do a google search for Internship opportunities. Both of these methods should be a good starting point.
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Samantha’s Answer

Absoutely! You reaching out shows that you are actually interested in the internship. I would also reach out to someone at your school or university. They can help you get in contact with the right person and the right organization for you. Your school may also be able to get you in contact with people who had worked with that interned there before so you can ask questions and see what the job would entail. I would also make sure to do some research on the organization you wish you complete an internship at so you know what you are getting into and what they stand for.
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RImike (Yema)’s Answer

Hi Reva,

More and more companies are posting their internship positions on their career websites.

A few things you can do:

  1. Speak with your school career office. Many companies have relationships with certain schools and your school career office might be able to provide some direction with regards to companies that have opportunities
  2. If you are interested in specific companies, go to their career website and search for jobs. Usually you can filter through jobs by full-time, part-time, internship etc
  3. You can also check out these websites:

internships.com

indeed.com

linkedin.com
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Danyel’s Answer

Look around you area for meetups (meetup.com is a great resource). Search for areas of interest or those hosted by companies of interest, and join those groups (including groups focused on the underrepresented in the industry if applicable). Once you get familiar and start networking with people within those spaces, it becomes easier to find other opportunities. (Also, there's often free food!)

Casual meetups will get your foot in the door to not only learn cool stuff, but also about other events you can attend, where often, there are career fairs and recruiters looking for fresh faced people in the industry to join their company; be it an internship or entry level career.

I attended some meetups geared toward women in tech, which lead me to a larger conference I'd otherwise never have known about, which then lead me to speaking with a recruiter about the position I hold now (my first in tech). Just getting out there and talking to people has proven to be the best way to find opportunities in my experience. Oh, and join their mailing lists to keep up with events around you that may present opportunities.
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Reese’s Answer

Another thing you can do, once you have narrowed down the positions or types of careers you are interested in, is to hop on LinkedIn.

1. Fill out your profile
2. Start searching for professionals in your area that are currently doing what you want to do
3. Craft a message that outlines why you are writing to them--you want to do what they are doing, and would love to hear how they got into this field. Make sure you also mention what you are doing to head in that direction (e.g., taking classes, extracurricular activities, etc.)
4. Run this message by your career counselor, or a few trusted people, to make sure your response is professional and courteous

Most people are very open to answering questions about how they got to where they are. Once you have established a rapport, you can inquire about internships and/or the hiring process.
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