5 Tips for Landing an Internship

Businesses are searching for interns for the Summer. If you're seeking an internship, here are five tips to take into consideration.

1.  Apply Apply Apply!

You should apply for all the internships you can. Plan ahead—early and prompt action with an internship application will pay off. Many of us suffer from procrastination, but if you want employers take you seriously you should stay ahead of the game. 

2.  Honesty is the best policy

You really want to land an internship that will set you career in motion. Competition may be tough, but the most important thing you can do when applying for an internship is to be honest. There is no need to fluff up your resume; employers understand that you are a student and do not expect you to have a 10-year work history. This is the phase where you are getting your feet wet; employers want to help you take that first step. Most of them remember being in your position once upon a time. When filling out your resume, you should be confident that you can fulfill the duties and skills you say you have. You should take every aspect of your application and resume into consideration and be sure to place your best foot forward. 


3.  Tailor Made 

Many people usually have a default resume they will mass send to all listed openings. You should take the time to tailor your resume to the specific application highlighting your best skills and experience particular to the internship. Your objective is the key point in your resume and needs to be tailored specifically for the internship. Along with your objective your cover letter should always be tailored specific to the position you are applying for, this will often be the key to your resume ending up in the waste basket or in the yes pile. 

In your cover letter you want to highlight these three main points:

-why you know you are the right person for this position
-how hiring you will benefit the company 
-how working for the company will benefit you

Some people might feel that stating how the company will benefit them is being over-confident, but it really shows that you have confidence in the company.

Tailoring your resume may be difficult for a situation when you are already at a job or internship fair. In this case, having a general resume is not a negative, but you should have a general idea of the position you are seeking. With this know will knowledge you can still tailor your resume and objective without your resume being too broad.

Remember, businesses want to bring members to their team who take their work seriously. You can show through your cover letter, resume and application.

4.  Rocking confidence right

Walking into a room of business professionals may be intimidating at first, especially for first-time internship-singers. There are hundreds of students seeking to land the same internship as you. Do not let numbers discourage you. Resumes may stack up, but making yours stand out is simple. Having confidence in your resume and yourself will it will show through when meeting with professionals. Give a firm handshake and look them in the eye and you will let employers know you are serious about working with their company. 

5.  Follow up

After you have finished applying for an internship, you should follow up with the employers and thank them for meeting with you. You should send a follow-up or thank-you letter after no more than three days. Having a nice "thank you" is always a refresher and shows how serious you are about the position.

You should always have someone review your application. Having a fresh pair of eyes will help to spot points in your resume or cover letters you may have overlooked. The right internship is waiting for you, but remember the effort you put into it is what you will receive back.