Internships FAQs
|
What should I be looking for in an internship? What should I be looking for in an internship? Overall, you want to gain work experiences that will help you to start to answer the question of “Is this what I want to do for my career?” Therefore, you want to engage in internships that allow you a first-hand look into a career field of interest. As you are researching internship opportunities, you want to try to determine what kind of work experiences will be offered to you as an intern. This information may be shared in an advertisement, but is most easily located through an interview with an employer. The quality of experiences offered sometimes will outweigh the prestige of the name. It is also common for students to engage in different kinds of internships until they find a career field that fits best. How do I find an internship? How do I find an internship opportunity using on-line databases such as LACN? Conduct multiple searches using different keywords just as you would if you were to conduct research on an online database for an academic paper. For example, if you are interested in doing an internship in organic farming, the keywords “organic,” “farming,” and “agriculture” will bring up opportunities of interest. Students sometimes fall victim to giving up before they give a resource a chance. It may take a few of attempts! What if I can’t find what I am looking for on the on-line databases? Keep going back at least on weekly basis to these databases as new opportunities (those from Colby and otherwise) are being listed daily. Other resources to think about are individuals in your network: academic faculty, family, friends, friends of the family, past employers, parents of friends, or basically anyone that you know! Also, don’t forget about the Alumni Directory as a resource to locate individuals to add to your network. Is it appropriate to ask my parents or my friends about internship opportunities? Yes! These individuals are part of your network and may know of people or opportunities related to what you are interested in pursuing. The key in asking these closer relations for potential opportunities is being clear in what it is you are hoping to do and to be professional in your request. Is it a good idea to use a search engine like Google to find an internship? Yes, but do so with caution. In recent years, more and more internship companies are popping up, attesting to having great internship opportunities for college students with promises of placement. These companies will advertise on search engines like Google. Make sure to research these companies carefully by reading the fine print before applying. Oftentimes companies that specialize in connecting students to internships will charge hefty fees and can not legally guarantee internship placement. Internet search engines can be beneficial in helping you to locate companies and organizations in a particular career field of interest and/or in a specific geographic location. For example, students who express interest in wanting to work in healthcare and for a non-profit organization may want to conduct an internet search with keywords, “non-profit” “healthcare” and “low income.” It is common that company and organization websites will have links for employment or career opportunities with contact information.
How can the Alumni Directory help me find an internship? While the Alumni Directory is not meant to serve as a job finder, it can allow you to locate contact information of alumni and parents who are willing to serve as mentors. The Alumni Directory allows you to conduct searches on career fields, business locales, and academic majors of alumni and parents. After an initial correspondence, students may want to consider professionally inquiring about internship opportunities. To become registered for the Alumni Directory, please contact the Office of Career Services to make an appointment or stop by during our drop-in hours. How do I appropriately ask an alumni or a parent I found on the Alumni Directory about an internship opportunity? If you locate an alum or parent on the Alumni Directory you would like to contact, first see if there is a “preferred” e-mail address. If not, contact him or her by the work phone number listed. Start off by introducing yourself with your name, class year, and major. Explain to them in a short paragraph your interest in his/her career field and that you would to learn more about it. Inquire about a 20 minute phone conversation at a time that is convenient for the alum or parent. Alternatively, ask if they would be willing to answer some questions by e-mail. Provide your contact information, preferably phone number and an email address. Don’t forget to offer appreciation for their consideration. For follow-up correspondence, prepare a list of questions about the career field you want answers to. Use these as a guide during your conversation or response. If the alum or parent has been positive in his/her response to you during the conversation, you may want to ask about an internship at that time. Follow-up with a “Thank you” email or letter. Does Career Services only have internships in Maine or in the northeast? It is important for students to understand that a majority of the internships offered through Colby are from Colby alumni and parents. A good percentage of Colby alumni and parents are located in Maine and the northeast, in general. Therefore, we tend to have a larger number of internships located in the northeast than other parts of the country. This is not to say, however, that internship opportunities do not exist outside of the northeast. If you have a particular geographic region in mind, consider speaking with a career counselor to help you brainstorm different internship resources to explore. Is it a good idea to send my resume and cover letter to a company even if an internship position isn’t advertised? Please do not do this. Call the company’s human resources department first to find out about available opportunities. Sending your resume and cover letter without previous communication may result in wasted effort by having your application materials thrown away. What if I call or email a company or an organization about an internship and one isn’t advertised? While this is not a bad idea, it does fall under the category of “cold calling.” It is best to do this provided that you know someone within the company or organization. If you do not know anyone in the company or organization you are interested in, start by speaking to someone who works in the human resources department and ask about internship opportunities. Do not just send in a resume and cover letter! While internships may not be directly advertised, depending on the company, they may welcome the opportunity to take on an intern. Overall, it doesn’t hurt to ask. How do I apply for an internship? How many internships should I apply to? This depends on your career field of interest. For example, high-profile internships with large finance corporations are extremely competitive, and therefore, students are encouraged to apply to many positions. Other fields, such as film and theater, are competitive because very few opportunities exist. While in the field of education, internships tend to be easier to locate. Factors to consider before applying are your desired career field, GPA, class year, past work and volunteer experiences, and the geographic location you wish to work in. Regardless of your field of interest, it is not a good idea to apply to just one internship. Applying to internships and jobs is a process. You may start off applying to 2 to 3 internships, and then continue to apply to new opportunities as they arise until you get a desirable position. Overall, you want to consider the quality of the experiences rather than the quantity of internships. When should I start applying for internships? Applying for jobs and internships does not necessarily reflect the schedule of an academic calendar. Internships are being offered at various times of the year, and so there is no one “application period.” This is true for both January and summer internships. However, there are some companies and organizations that will have deadlines for their internship programs or positions. Do not wait until the deadline-apply early to have a better chance at securing a position. Best advice is to start early and speak with a career counselor if you feel that you need guidance on the process. In addition to having your resume polished, you want to start researching positions and networking with contacts early in the semester before coursework begins to pile up. It’s December or it’s May, is it too late?!? Yes and no. While the deadlines for some internships have passed, there may be opportunities available to you. However, time is of the essence, especially if you wish to register your internship through the Office of Career Services in order to receive Jan Plan credit or transcript notation. Due dates for internship applications are December 15th for January internships and May 15th for summer internships. It is important that you allow for some flexibility at this stage of the game. If you are getting a late start, but have some specifications in mind such as a particular geographic location or a competitive career field, think about some compromises you are willing to make. It is also a good idea to apply to internship positions that are advertised rather than contacting individuals and asking for an internship that has not been created. Will I need a resume and cover letter in order to apply to internships? Most often, yes. Many internship positions will request that you send a resume and a cover letter in order to apply, even if they have a formal application. Please visit the Career Services website or make an appointment to see a career counselor to answer your questions about creating or revising a resume or a cover letter. How much time should I devote to finding an internship? It is recommended that students set aside at least a couple hours a week on the entire internship process from start to finish. This will include working on a resume and cover letters, researching internship positions, calling and emailing employers, and so on. Best suggestion is for students to schedule this process just as they schedule their classes, club meetings, and study times. Why is it that some students have landed internships and I haven’t gotten one yet? Even though we know that we shouldn’t compare ourselves to our peers, we do it anyway. Try your best not to do this as it may make you less motivated to work on getting an internship. If you have concerns about your qualifications, application materials, or your approach to finding an internship, speak with a career counselor to discuss these issues. The difference between you and another candidate for an internship position may be something that can be easily fixed with a visit to Career Services. Overall, it is not uncommon for students to apply for multiple positions over a period of time regardless of great qualifications. What if I am abroad or will be going abroad, how can I get an internship? Thinking ahead and preparing early is the best way to go if you will be abroad and want to do an internship once you return. Some students have been able to set up internships six months in advance knowing that they will be out of the country for a semester. If you are abroad and have reliable access to the internet and a phone, it is not impossible for you to get an internship. You still have access to the Career Services website at www.colby.edu/career.serv, which hosts a series of websites with internship listings, including LACN, Spotlight on Careers, and Internships-USA. You may also want to investigate the Alumni Directory for contacts. If you have particular companies and organizations in mind, conduct a Google search with the name and find if an employment link or human resources contact information is listed on the company website. Overall, you may be able to conduct the entire process via phone and e-mail, but just be mindful of the time difference. If you are abroad and do not have reliable access to phone or internet, contact career@colby.edu with what you are hoping to do and a counselor may be able to assist you by e-mail depending on your interests, what you were able to accomplish before going abroad, and present timeframe. How do I decide on an internship? I haven’t heard back from an internship, how long should I wait and what should I say? Usually internships and jobs require an in-person or a phone interview, during which employers will often state when they will get back to you with a decision. It is also appropriate for you to ask when you should hear back from them at the end of an interview if the employer does not offer this information first. If it has been at least a week since your interview and have not heard back with no knowledge of when you will hear back, it is appropriate for you to call the employer and ask. In your correspondence, you want to emphasize your interest in the position and ask when you may hear back from them with a decision. This extra step may work to your advantage as the employer will want to hire someone who is a “go-getter” and who demonstrates interest in his/her company/organization. What if I have received offers from two (or more) internships, and can’t decide? If you have been offered more than one internship position, ask the employers if you can have a couple of days before you make a decision. During that time, research the companies and organizations thoroughly and learn as much as you can about them. If there are interns currently working at these locales, ask the employers if it would be okay for you to talk with them about their experiences. You may even want to consider writing a pro and con list for the internship positions to aid in your decision making or talk with a career counselor. Before turning down an offer, first make sure you accept the internship you want and finalize the start date. For the position(s) you are turning down, express your appreciation for the offer and explain that you have taken another internship position. You do not need to explain why you took the other internship, unless the employer asks. Always offer words of gratitude for their time and consideration. How many internships should I do before I graduate? At least one, but more if it is possible. Research shows that students who engage in internships before graduation tend to be better prepared for the world of work and are more likely to get quality employment positions post graduation than students who don’t. This is also true of students who are planning to apply to graduate, law, or medical school. In some instances, internships will turn into full-time employment opportunities for students post graduation! What about housing and financial support? How do students support themselves financially if they do an unpaid internship? Unfortunately the number of unpaid internships outweighs the number of paid internships. If you want to do an unpaid internship, but need an income, consider the asking about paid opportunities within your company or organization, especially if your internship is part-time. Students also may opt to conduct an unpaid internship on a part-time basis while working at another paid job. If taking on a part-time internship is not an option, the Office of Career Services offers a series of fellowships for students, which can be found on the Career Services website. How can I find housing if my internship is in a location where I don’t know anyone? The Alumni Directory and Craigslist are two great resources for locating temporary housing during January and the summer. In the past, students have used the Alumni Directory to contact parents or alumni about possible housing options. www.craigslist.org is another good resource for finding temporary housing based on geographic location. Also, colleges and universities will often rent out student housing at a discounted rate during the summer months. To get more information about college and university summer housing options, contact the residential life offices. If you are not registered to access the Alumni Directory, please make an appointment to see a career counselor or stop in during drop-in hours at Career Services to do so. What do I need know about the Colby Internship Application? Do I have to complete the internship application through Career Services in order to do an internship? Students often will choose to complete the application because it will allow them to receive Jan Plan credit for January internships and transcript notation. Students must complete the application, available online, if they need to receive Jan Plan credit for an internship. For summer internships, students who complete the application will be awarded transcript notation-ideal way to officially verify your work history. For additional information regarding internship criteria and policy, please visit the Career Services website and review “internship criteria.” Should I wait until I have confirmed an internship before I arrange for a Faculty Sponsor? Is my Faculty Sponsor the same person as my Faculty Advisor? What should I discuss with my Faculty Sponsor? Can I earn academic credit for an internship? If I am not earning academic credit for an internship, why should I register an internship and fill out the internship application? Many employers are now requiring written documentation from the college that the internship has been formally registered and is under the supervision of a Faculty Sponsor. Upon completion of your internship, you will receive transcript notation showing the dates and the name of the organization of your internship. The transcript notation will only be on your transcript upon final completion of your internship; this includes handing in your final internship project to your Faculty Supervisor, receipt of your on-site supervisor's evaluation, and completion of the internship survey. For Jan Plan internships, the on-line registration is now available and the application deadline for all but first-year students is December 14, 2009; for first-years, the deadline is October 28, 2009. For summer internships, the application becomes available March 15th and the deadline for applying is May 14, 2009. The application must specify: |