From elevator pitches to the perfectly crafted resume, the hunt for internships can feel never-ending for college students across the country. Whether it’s getting through a competitive application process or simply staying on top of intern duties, the road to the job market demands a certain level of perseverance and commitment from its vying contenders.
Luckily, the University of Arizona offers plenty of resources for students to get their hands on their dream opportunities for the summer. Through a wide team of career specialists and coaching professionals, getting personalized career help has been made easier for all Wildcats. Here are their pointers for successfully navigating internship season:
Quality over quantity
It can be tempting to fall into the trap of recycling bland resumes and cover letters. However, the application process for internships — and even jobs — was never meant to be purely a numbers game. With the increasing competition and selectivity of hiring companies, it may be time for applicants to reevaluate their strategies.
“One of the biggest mistakes that I see students make is […] submitting an immense amount of applications and just hoping that something will stick,” said Brianna Fulp, program manager in student engagement and career development for early talent connections. “Take the time to tailor your materials […] and that may be submitting less if it means crafting more quality applications.”
Having been a career coach prior to her current role, Fulp now oversees the Journey to Internships series, a three-session program focused on transitioning students into the workforce through effective internship search practices and preparation for upcoming career fairs. Much of her work at the University of Arizona lies in offering one-on-one career support and connecting with employers to create new student opportunities.
Her colleague, Kylee Vanek, similarly emphasizes the necessity of aligning application documents with appropriate role values and skills as associate director of career education:
“A number of employers, particularly larger companies, use […] Applicant Tracking Systems that scan and look for a match between documents and their job postings. That’s why we want students to really look for keywords that employers are using and emphasize those elements within their applications,” Vanek said.
Not only is it beneficial for students to highlight their internship-specific goals, but demonstrating interest and a willingness to learn can do wonders in securing the ideal position. By understanding a company’s mission and finding where their points intersect with one’s passions, students have the chance to truly showcase their contribution potential while working in the direction of a desired career point.
Balancing brands
Google. Apple. Amazon. Netflix.
Brand names hold as much weight in the internship world as they do in the typical household, with students flocking to their application sites every fall. Amid this quest for prestige, many seem to lose sight of the value in interning for local companies and organizations, which may offer greater opportunities for growth.
Students should prioritize getting a wider reach as an applicant by sending their materials to both competitive and less competitive places, especially companies that resonate with their intended career goals. This may require removing these large corporations off the pedestal for a while in order to build the initial experience needed to eventually climb up to these roles.
As a course instructor and Associate Director of Internships and Career Readiness, Brittney Crawford is familiar with the common tactics that students tend to use and believe to work in landing internships. But, sometimes, certain approaches like limiting oneself to top companies can severely backfire on the applicant.
“To combat this, make sure to also diversify your applications by sending some to small and medium-sized organizations where the learning opportunities are just as important,” Crawford said. “Students might even get to dive into projects in a little more depth than they would at a large organization.”
Additionally, she advises that students should adjust their application documents depending on the ratio of interview offers to applications submitted. A low number of interview offers to an extremely high number of submitted applications may mean that students need to possibly change up their resumes or enhance their cover letters.
Networking
Making the most of an internship experience is just as important, if not more, than the application cycle itself.
Amanda Harrell, the current program manager for the Institute of Computation and Data-Enabled Insight at the University of Arizona, has had experience with career outreach, helping students build ties with employers and setting up internship programs locally.
Harrell states that developing a plan ahead of an internship and being self-aware of one’s current skill set can improve student confidence. “If you don’t know how to do something or if something is not clear, ask questions early and don’t feel like you have to know everything or that it is embarrassing to not know something.”
Internships are meant to be a learning experience, and employers are more eager to impart their wisdom to students and those new to the playing field.
According to Crawford, it will be beneficial for students to take advantage of any opportunity to network, whether through coffee chats or engaging in conversations with colleagues.
“If you go through college and you go through your internships and you don’t expand your network, you’re really not capitalizing on […] being in this well-connected space,” Crawford said. “Taking initiative to get to know people is going to go a long way.”
University-specific opportunities
There are many perks to being a University of Arizona student, one of which includes the Summer Internship Stipend once managed by Harrell. This program is intended to provide Wildcats with a financial cushion of $2,500 to support an upcoming summer internship they’ve already been accepted to. Learn more about this specific financial opportunity and its eligibility requirements on this website.
Struggling on finding solid internships? All Wildcats have access to Handshake, a site with a specific focus on internships and student success with relevant filters for experience level, major, year of study and more. Mainstream platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed can become overwhelming and exhaust students fairly quickly due to its focus on job hunting rather than internships according to Harrell.
Additionally, there are professionals always ready to assist students in setting up quality resumes, preparing for internships and navigating these popular search platforms on campus. Students can access services such as personal internship coaching offered by the Career Development Office through their Handshake account or by visiting career.arizona.edu.
