Anxiety. Stress. Anticipation. These words might pop into the heads of students preparing themselves for the daunting process of searching for internships. \nThe hunt for job experience can be overwhelming, but you don't have to lose sleep over it. In many different departments, the same advice is given: keep your options open, explore as many opportunities as possible and remember that searching is hard work. Hard work that pays. \nIn many majors, possibilities are opening up for students to learn about different companies and potential internship positions they offer. The time is ripe for interested undergraduate and graduate scholars to probe into their field and talk to employers about internships. \nFor many students, the process begins with questions. They should ask themselves what it is they want to do and then ask around for information that could lead to a position. \nNext, students can narrow down their search by "doing informational interviews with professionals, reading materials about specific careers, communicating with alumni, talking with other students in their major, as well as reading through job announcements," said Karen Bazur, career information and internship specialist in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
The hunt is on\nThe Career Development Center, 625 North Jordan Ave., offers programs to help students with their job search. Within the CDC, the Career Resource Library and the Arts and Sciences Placement Office are sources of internship assistance. \n"The people there were of great help," said Brandon Ice, a recent graduate who completed two internships during his years at IU. \nAccording to the Business Placement Office Web site, internship openings are much less plentiful than are full-time offerings. But this shouldn't be discouraging, said Brent Atwater, associate director of student services in the Kelley School of Business.\nMany departments host job fairs in the fall and winter months to introduce students to various employers. \nIn late January, the College of Arts and Sciences is hosting an internship fair for its students. At last year's event, 80 organizations and 100 employers came and spoke with students. To gear up for the 2002 event, the ASPO is offering workshops on networking, interviewing and resume-tweaking. \nThe business school offers to its students the Roundtable Career Fairs, which allow students structured personal time with employers. \n"This gives both students and recruiters the opportunity to build a relationship with each other," Atwater said. \nStudents don't have to go through IU to find companies. With a little Web surfing, they can look for prospective companies on the Internet and contact them cold. \n"If you take a little bit of initiative, there's a gold mine at your feet," said Gerry Depasse, assistant director of recruiting at the business school.
How to get an edge\nFor students, making themselves known, or networking, can be crucial in the internship selection process. Whether it be through alumni, professors or friends, networking can mean the difference between getting an interview and falling through the cracks. \n"If the student has already made connections with someone in the organization, he/she becomes more of a 'known entity,'" Bazur said. \nBut getting the company's attention is just a step on the path to spending the semester in Washington or crunching numbers with the big boys. Students need to research their potential employers and learn as much as they can about the companies in which they're interested. \n"The number one thing that kicks students out of the process (of application) is if they know nothing about the company. Preparation can't be overlooked," Atwater said. \nNext, creating a resume that includes competencies, activities and past experiences is a key element in the application process. To this end, the CDC is a resource. Workers in the center can help students with creating cover letters and can also give students personal advice with their resumes. \n"Students also gain an edge by participating in co-curricular activities and work experiences. These can all provide transferable skills which can be marketed," Bazur said. \nJust as a coveted internship will help students get a job later on, any experience they can gain now will improve their chances of getting the internship.
From the student perspective\nIce said he knows the benefits of internships. He reaped many of these himself from his experiences in two different interning positions during his years at IU, which helped land him his current job. Majoring in general studies with minors in business, psychology and sociology, Ice performed internships for a communications company; the summer before his fourth year, he worked as an intern in Dallas with Southwestern Bell Communications and the following year at Ameritech in Chicago. \nIce's journey to internship success began the spring of his freshman year when he got a job as a peer advisor with the Career Development Center. But Ice, like many students, had the "junior internship" mentality and turned down an internship to take two part-time jobs. Subsequently, Ice began to look seriously at obtaining an internship through family and friends, Web sites, the CDC, books and the internship fair for COAS. \nThese internship fairs are held in the beginning of the second semester and are sponsored typically by different schools. At his internship fair, Ice was able to present himself to employers in a positive way, giving them something other than his resume. \n"The key to internship searching is building a relationship with any recruiter you can," he said.
