Internship Blog: Crystal Christophe Post #2

Tips on Finding an Internship

 Greetings all!
I’m going to give you some tips for finding an internship.  I recommend that you attend the Student Activities Fair in the fall and attend the various information sessions about different organizations that are held throughout the year.  I also suggest talking to your colleagues about any leads.  I would also keep an eye on your graduating class’ Facebook page because internships are always being shared there.  As far as looking outside of GSPIA, I would suggest websites like Nonprofit Talent for those interested in nonprofits and the City of Pittsburgh site if you are interested in local government.  Also check out internships on USA Jobs.  GSPIA Connections is also great and has a variety of local, national, and international internships listed.  I also recommend going directly to the websites of the organizations you are interested in working with and seeing if they are looking for interns.  If you do not see any listings, do not be afraid to contact someone directly and ask.  Sometimes they will not advertise for interns.

Cast your net widely and begin your search EARLY.  I did not think about it too much until January/February and found that I had already missed a lot of deadlines.  Start looking in the fall.  Send out lots of applications!  Do not get discouraged.  Remember you are competing with a LOT of other applicants.  Make sure that your resume/CV is up to date and is formatted well.  I recommend consulting with Career Services (make an appointment through Connections) to get feedback on it.
Develop a basic template for your cover letter because you will be submitting a LOT of them.  You will have to modify them slightly depending on the position.  Make sure that you have a good writing sample because some internships will ask for one.  PROOF PROOF PROOF!  Proofread everything!  That small typo could get your application tossed in the reject pile.

If you are invited to an interview, I think you already know that you should dress up.  Just as important as your opinion is to be yourself.  They already know that you are qualified, but now they are judging you based on your personality and overall demeanor.  Go with your gut.  If you don’t get a good feeling about the place in your interview, trust the feeling and don’t feel obliged to take it if they offer the position to you.

I recommend that you do your internship during the summer because you will have more time.  Grad school is very demanding and you would do yourself a favor by completing those 300 hours at a time when you are not also taking a full course load.

I hope this helps.  I will add more tips if I think of any!