{"id":7606,"date":"2017-05-26T15:29:47","date_gmt":"2017-05-26T15:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/career-advice\/7-tricks-to-land-a-great-summer-internship-7606\/"},"modified":"2023-03-30T17:25:47","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T11:55:47","slug":"7-tricks-to-land-a-great-summer-internship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/7-tricks-to-land-a-great-summer-internship\/","title":{"rendered":"7 tricks to land a great summer internship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"7
Paid or unpaid, an internship is a foot in the door towards a real job after you graduate. Apart from looking great on your resume, an internship gives you the chance to gain new skills, network and make connections, establish relationships with mentors, give you a good introduction to the industry’s etiquette and culture, and an opportunity to \u201ctest drive\u201d your career. <\/span>

But the current shifting economy and evolving work environment mean internships aren\u2019t easy to land. <\/span>

Ellen Gordon Reeves, author of Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview? Finding, Landing and Keeping Your First Real Job<\/em>, believes that the pressure \u201cis on and competition is fierce.\u201d
<\/span>
This makes it extremely important to network strategically. Reeves\u2019 has a bit of advice: \u201cStop sending your resumes into cyberspace. It’s a black hole.\u201d<\/span>

<\/span>Apart from this, we suggest you try this seven-step action plan for landing a great summer internship.<\/span>
<\/strong>
1. Look in all the right places<\/strong> <\/span>
If you\u2019re looking only at job search sites, you aren\u2019t doing enough. Many companies and industries often have their own job boards and postings, so check those for positions that don\u2019t appear on job sites. University and college professors could also be in the know of industry-specific internship hotspots. Your web of relationships is an extremely powerful tool and can help you land your dream internship. So wield it. <\/span>

Tip:<\/strong> Tap your parents\u2019 network – friends, colleagues and others. They could help you find just the right internship. <\/span>

2. Join a career-specific social networking site<\/strong><\/span>
Social networking sites aren\u2019t all play, no work. Even if you don\u2019t have any experience to brag about! After all, the people you need to impress are there, aren\u2019t they? Create a profile and showcase the varied things you have done \u2013 that volunteering stint with street children, the thesis topic you worked on, the extra work you took on at college. It may not seem like much, but employers are sure to appreciate the effort to network. <\/span>

Tip:<\/strong> A little bit of embellishment is fine, but don\u2019t bluff. Helping out at a blood bank is different from saving lives. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Never copy-paste a template cover letter<\/span><\/strong>
It may be the first time that you\u2019re sending out an internship request, but desist from using a template cover letter. Any potential employer who\u2019s seen a few resumes can tell it\u2019s a template. Draw inspiration from a well-written cover letter<\/a>, but use it only as a guide to pen a letter that shows your style and is tailored to the company. <\/span>

Tip:<\/strong> Your cover letter should sell your skills, experience and abilities instead of emphasising things that are lacking. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Let your resume set you apart<\/span><\/strong>
Every potential employer or recruiter has seen thousands of resumes, so make sure that yours stands out. Creative resumes<\/a> \u2013 be it an amazing infographic or a standout piece of art \u2013 have much more potential of attracting an employer\u2019s eye and getting you an internship offer. <\/span>

Tip:<\/strong> Creativity is fine, but don\u2019t forget to list down your achievements and skills on the resume. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Clean up your online persona<\/span><\/strong>
You can get away with showing off your entire life on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, but that\u2019s fine only when you\u2019re a student. If you\u2019re looking for a step up into the professional world, it\u2019s time to clean up your online image. Remove all photos, tweets or posts that are remotely controversial. Instead, show off what a potential employer would like to read \u2013 blog posts, interesting articles and innovative ideas. <\/span>

Tip:<\/strong> Impress a potential employer by showing, not telling. Your own blog could be the perfect way to do this. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Work on acing the interview<\/span><\/strong>
Every employer knows that good resume or not, an undergraduate is lacking in accomplishments and work history. That\u2019s why the interview is extremely important. Carol Christen, co-author of What Color Is Your Parachute? For Teens, a career guide for young people, believes young people are going to be hired \u201cmore often on personality traits than on knowledge or skills\u201d. She says it take as many as nine interviews for students to get comfortable so practise.<\/span>

Tip:<\/strong> If college career counsellors aren\u2019t open to mock interviews, consider asking relatives or friends.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. It\u2019s not about the money, honey <\/span><\/strong>
Ryan Kahn, career coach and author of Hired! The Guide for the Recent Grad, believes that finding an internship can be worth every undergraduate\u2019s while. \u201cI am huge advocate for unpaid internships. They\u2019re a great way to test out an industry. Just for a couple of days a week, you can gain the experience to decide whether you want to spend the rest of your career in that field,\u201d he said in an interview. <\/span>

Tip:<\/strong> Think of your internship as a stepping stone to success. At this point in life, the money doesn\u2019t matter as much as connections and experience. <\/span>
Keep in mind that companies devoting time and resources to finding, selecting and training interns look for a return on their investment. It may be in the present or it might accrue in the future, but there\u2019s no denying the benefits that a great internship can bring you. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Searching for your first job can be an intimidating experience. To give you a boost, we\u2019ve put together a Graduate Handbook that covers all the essential job search tips you\u2019ll need<\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paid or unpaid, an internship is a foot in the door towards a real job after you graduate. Apart from looking great on your resume, an internship gives you the chance to gain new skills, network and make connections, establish relationships with mentors, give you a good introduction to the industry’s etiquette and culture, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[120],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7606","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-internships-volunteering"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7606"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16345,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7606\/revisions\/16345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}