Getting Your Ideal Internship 9781582078311, 9781582078304

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Guide Getting Your Ideal Internship

5th EDITION

Getting Your Ideal Internship

WetFeet, Inc. The Folger Building 101 Howard Street Suite 300 San Francisco, CA 94105 Phone: (415) 284-7900 or 1-800-926-4JOB Fax: (415) 284-7910 Website: www.wetfeet.com

Getting your ideal internship 5th Edition ISBN: 978-1-58207-831-1

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Copyright 2008 WetFeet, Inc. All rights reserved. This publication is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. No copying in any form is permitted. It may not be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, in part or in whole, without the express written permission of WetFeet, Inc. The publisher, author, and any other party involved in creation, production, delivery, or sale of this WetFeet Insider Guide make no warranty, express or implied, about the accuracy or reliability of the information found herein. To the degree you use this guide or other materials referenced herein, you do so at your own risk. The materials contained herein are general in nature and may not apply to particular factual or legal circumstances. Under no circumstances shall the publisher, author, or any other party involved in creation, production or delivery of this guide be liable to you or any other person for damages of any kind arising from access to, or use of, its content. All illustrations by mckibillo

Getting Your Ideal Internship

CHAPTER

1 23 1 Internships: Your Vehicle for Success

7 Get Ready: Identifying the Value of Internships

17 Aim: Targeting Opportunities

8 Do You Know What You Don’t Know?

19 Where Are the Internships?

9 The Employers’ Perspective

24 Timing the Search

18 Types of Internships

2 Overview 3 Good Market/Bad Market 4 Internship Outlook

Getting Your Ideal Internship

5 The Bottom Line

10 Career Development 101 13 Benefits of Internships

24 Which Track Should I Take? 27 Making Your Own Internship

conte 5th EDITION

4567

39 Get Hired: The Process 40 Be the Ideal Candidate 41 International Students

43 Americans Pursuing Opportunities Abroad 44 Getting the Yes

53 Stay Hired: Turn Your Internship into a Job

54 Make the Most of Your Internship

59 Special Section for MBAs

73 For Your Reference

60 Improving Your Career Options

74 Real Intern Profiles

62 Internship vs Summer Project

54 Start Working Before You Start Working

63 Internship Timeline for MBAs

56 Maximize Your Internship ROI

69 Options Beyond Internships

80 In Closing

47 Refusing to Take “No” as the Final Answer 50 The Employer’s Perspective—Ability, Possibility, and Fit

76 Recommended Resources

nts

Internships: Your Vehicle For Success

1

Overview...........................................2 Good Market/Bad Market.................3 Internship Outlook...........................4 The Bottom Line...............................5

internships get ready Aim Get hired stay Hired Special Section for MBAs FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Getting Your Ideal Internship

Overview

What kind of internship should you look for? Three simple steps will help you answer that question:

Most people want to do what it takes to get their

1. Determine the type of work you want to do (for example, marketing, finance, operations, IT, development, or advocacy)

first choice in career opportunities or job placement. You’re prepared to create the winning resume and tailored cover letter, sell yourself in interviews, and follow up with thank-you notes and glowing references. Yet the investment in your next job should start well before the job search. Each of your experiences and skills shapes the options available to you later. That’s where internships come in: In your career development, they’re one of the most effective vehicles for success. Internships take you from where you are to where you want to go. This is true whether you’re just taking the first steps in exploring your options, an experienced professional who’s between jobs or considering a career change, or entrenched in a graduate or professional program and evaluating how your training will apply to the working world.

No matter where you are now, internships give you additional skills, measurable accomplishments and experiences, and professional connections. And you’re in the driver’s seat: You can decide which internship opportunities to pursue to gain the experience that will eventually get you hired.



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2. Determine the industry you’d like to work in (transportation, health care, banking, high tech, social services, publishing, and so on) 3. Determine whether internships that fit your goals already exist, or if you’ll need to pursue other ways to gain experience in your field. Among other things, this guide will help you complete the steps above and begin implementing your course of action. More compelling reasons to pursue an internship: • Internships can confirm not only what you want to do but also what you don’t want to do, helping you narrow down your preferences. •

Employers see internships as a way to find qualified candidates.

•

By the time they graduate from college, many of your peers have already taken advantage of internships to develop their careers—and you’ll be competing against them for jobs.

Take a look at some recent data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE): • Employers responding to NACE’s 2006 Experiential Education Survey said that experience gained through an internship makes a difference in their full-time hiring decisions. •

“When employers are looking at job candidates, work experience is one of the things they look for,” says Camille Luckenbaugh, NACE research director. “Employers told us that three out of five of their new college hires in 2005 had internship

internships

experience, and over one-quarter had participated in a co-op assignment.”

Whether you’re planning your career in a

“Our internship program is one of our programs for early identification of consultants. It’s pretty competitive—we target the top in each class.”

Special Section for MBAs

INSIDER SCOOP

stay hired

One major real estate services employer estimates that one out of eight company interns is actively recruited, and that usually interns will accept the job offer. “These former interns are offered about 10 percent more than other new hires with equivalent experience at another company,” this employer says. “Pay is higher for these new hires because we know they’re reliable and do a good job.” Interns know a company better. They’re familiar with the daily activities, organizational structure, staff, and current projects. As a result, they can make a more informed decision about employment. This leads to better career planning and lowers the risk of a bad match. New employees are more likely to perform well and remain with a company. Retention is a key issue for organizations.

Get hired

tight or booming economy, internships are a valuable tool. When companies and organizations slow down recruiting efforts due to smaller budgets, layoffs/ reduced hiring, or a decrease in the number of clients they serve, it means that job applicants face greater competition. The experience or skills you add to your resume as the result of a well-chosen internship will give you an advantage over your peers. Internships (or volunteer projects) are also a fantastic way to avoid gaps in your resume if you’re a career changer, or if you’ve lost your job. They enable you to keep your skills fresh or develop new ones. They also show initiative and keep you active and engaged. Finally, internships grant you access to the “inside”—they connect you to the networks of people who influence hiring. When the economy is flourishing, internships continue to be a good investment.

aim

Good Market/ Bad Market

Many employers offer internships because they see them as a great way to be involved in the community, increase diversity in the workplace, and determine if an intern is right for a future opening.

Get ready

Note: For more on the updated NACE 2006 Experiential Education Survey, visit www.naceweb.org. So, to reiterate: For many employers, internships are an integral part of the hiring process. As you consider your career development, remember that an internship is one of the surest ways to reach your employment goals.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

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internships get ready Aim Get hired

Internship Outlook Each year, tens of thousands of students take

internship positions in the U.S. Most of these internships are offered during the summer months. There’s no comprehensive source tracking the annual number of internships; the number may vary widely. However, the number of internships, like the number of full-time jobs, rises and falls with the ups and downs of the economy. In 2006, the U.S. economic outlook for the next three to five years was positive. According to WetFeet’s Internship Programs Report 2006, the internship job market is healthy. The report notes that in 2005, 60 percent of undergraduates received two or more internship offers, up from 26 percent of undergraduates who received multiple internship offers in 2003. The numbers are even rosier for MBAs: In 2005, 65 percent received multiple internship offers, up from 43 percent in 2003. These internship figures should continue to increase in the coming years as the economy grows. Likewise, the number of entry-level jobs also will continue to rise. Now is a good time to become an intern. Internships often lead to offers.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Special Section for MBAs

stay Hired

Getting Your Ideal Internship



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Getting an internship is not a guarantee of receiving an offer for a full-time position, but the odds are good—and appear to be improving every year. WetFeet’s Internship Programs Report 2006 states that: “As of November of 2005, 59 percent of undergraduate interns and 71 percent of MBA interns reported that they had received or expected to receive a full-time job offer. (In 2003, only 43 percent and 63 percent, respectively, were in the same position.)” It would be nice to compare these figures with those for students without internship experience, but unfortunately such statistics don’t exist. It’s safe to say that internship experience improves your chances of receiving one or more full-time offers. It’s a springboard within an organization, and gives you an advantage over your competition. In NACE’s 2006 Experiential Education Survey, employers said they extended offers for full-time employment to about 53 percent of the students who had been their interns, and to more than 64 percent of the students who had participated in a co-op assignment for them (see the “Types of Internships” section in this book for more information on co-op assignments). The NACE survey also found that almost half the participants offer higher starting salaries to new college hires with any internship or co-op experience. Note that qualifying internship experience can be with almost any employer, not just the one making the offer. Experience pays!

internships

The possibilities for internships are vast. Interns

Special Section for MBAs FOR YOUR REFERENCE

survey respondents said competition for new college graduates had increased over the preceding year. One in five employers said they’d increased starting salaries for new college grads, and others were offering signing and/or relocation bonuses, or rotational training programs. The outlook for 2006–07 was strong, too: Two in three employers said they were planning to hire even more new grads for full-time entry-level positions during that period.

stay hired

As employers plan for more full-time hiring, internships will play an increasingly important part in recruiting. NACE’s Job Outlook 2006 Spring Update survey showed that more than 60 percent of the responding employers planned to hire more new college graduates in 2006 than they did in 2005. The service and manufacturing sectors were expecting the largest hiring gains— 16.4 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively. It’s not surprising that nearly 88 percent of

Get hired

π A Positive Outlook

aim

are used at large, midsize, and small companies in every major industry. It’s safe to say that 850 of the Fortune 1000 companies consistently use interns. Consider the following numbers: There are roughly 1,800 companies in the U.S. with more than 5,000 employees, and about 5.6 million companies with fewer than 100 employees, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistics of U.S. Business: 2003. Many small, nonprofit, or government organizations hire interns every year. Often, it’s easier to obtain an internship with these employers because competition is less intense.

Many companies look for the right match between you and them. “While we like interns who have some prior work experience,” says an HR coordinator at a major motion picture studio, “ultimately it boils down to how they present themselves in the interview—that is, appearance, answers to questions, attitude, drive, ambition—that impacts whether or not we make them an internship offer. We’re more interested in potential and that X-factor in their personality than the experience they bring to the table.” Ultimately, your success in finding or creating and then using your ideal internship will depend on your focus; that is, you should know what you want professionally and hone your message. The sharper your message is, the more credibility you’ll have with employers—whether you’re a former editor switching to counseling, an ESL teacher hoping to become a management consultant, or simply jump-starting an exciting first career. If an employer is sold on your credibility, the organization will be more willing to make you a full-time offer. In this guide, you’ll find information to help you find and create internship opportunities.

Get ready

The Bottom Line

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Get Ready:

2

Identifing the Value of Internships Do You Know . What You Don’t Know?.....................8 The Employers’ Perspective...............9 Career Development 101................10 Benefits of Internships....................13

internships get ready

Getting Your Ideal Internship

Do You Know What You Don’t Know? one. Maybe they know someone at a company who gets them a job, or they find a position that’s convenient and take it to make money while they decide what they really want to do. They end up staying at a company long past the time they planned to. Pretty soon their job becomes their career. They may not be happy, or even competent, but they feel stuck because they know the routine and depend on the paycheck.

Get hired

Aim

Some people fall into a career instead of choosing

> TIP

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Special Section for MBAs

stay Hired

Want to maximize control over your fate? Do some self-reflection, and commit to doing a couple of internships during your career exploration before you linking yourself long-term to any particular company.

If your experience with an organization is positive, you could turn the internship into a career-launching job. But if it’s less than what you expected, you can store away what you’ve learned and move on. No experience is wasted. More on self-reflection: Give some thought to your likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, achievements and abilities, and skills you’d like to develop. You probably know your favorite school subjects, and maybe you have goals for the field, occupation, or company you want to join. If not, now is the time to think more deeply about these issues and create objectives. To avoid aimless drifting, develop a plan that may include internships. But remember that things change. 

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What do you require for a satisfying career? Ask yourself the following questions: • What achievements or accomplishments am I most proud of? •

What are my strengths—personal qualities, skills, and abilities?

•

What makes me happiest and most fulfilled in my work?

•

What am I most passionate about?

•

What types of people do I most enjoy working with?

•

What kinds of growth opportunities do I look for?

•

What new skills am I looking to acquire?

•

What situations are most conducive to my learning?

•

What types of challenges do I most enjoy?

•

What work environment(s) promote(s) my productivity?

Your responses may reveal what you do and don’t know about your career direction. Thoughtful answers will form the basis for effective and successful career planning. You’ll pick positions and employers that are a good fit. You’ll do better in your interviews. You’ll have more direction in finding your next career opportunity. You’ll focus your time at work on things you enjoy. And subsequently you’ll be happier in your career. (See the “Career Development 101” section below for more self-assessment questions.) Think about details such as challenges, work environment, potential co-workers, and opportunities. If you’re not sure what you want, investigate. Speak with someone doing the kind of work you’re interested in, or with a career adviser. A counselor can connect you with self-assessment questionnaires that will help you pinpoint your values, skills, and interests.

internships

> TIP

Employers benefit from an intern’s willingness to work for a reduced wage in exchange for real-world experience and sometimes academic credit. Some organizations like the idea of helping a student launch their career.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

of the interview process. “Internships provide us the best opportunity to make full-time hiring decisions regarding students,” says one senior marketing director. “Not only do we get to see how they perform on the job for 10 to 12 weeks doing real work, but we also get to see if there’s a good fit between us and the student.”

Special Section for MBAs

Employers use internships mostly as extensions

stay hired

The Employers’ Perspective

Get hired

As you gain focus on your career values, you’ll see gaps in your skills or experience. You may have already identified talents that you want to use, but perhaps not the industry where you’d be most engaged. Conversely, you may be very happy with your field but want to expand skills to move ahead. Speak with your peers, supervisor, mentor, and advisers about your responses to the questions above. Ask how you can gather the experience that can move you to your new career.

Companies that hire interns build goodwill within the community—especially with local universities. They’re also building reputations in the business world. As businesspeople mature and rise to prominence in their career, they often make fond reference to the company that gave them their start, even if they eventually moved to a different organization.

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Your career, like everyone else’s, is a work in progress. It’s okay to change your mind down the road, when you have more information and experience. The decisions you make now are important, but nothing you do is set in stone, so don’t stress.

Employers sometimes use interns to test the supervisory skills of management candidates within the company. Coaching, mentoring, training, and delegating are all interpersonal managerial skills that employees need to develop for promotions. Some companies even ask interns if their supervisor is doing a good job in training them.

Get ready

As you refine your responses, think of the impact your messages will have on potential employers. Rambling responses project fuzzy thinking and indecision, while crisp answers demonstrate confidence.

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internships get ready

Getting Your Ideal Internship

Career Development 101 related research that they make little progress in their career and personal fulfillment. They have analysis paralysis. Some research is necessary, but too much is like an addiction and becomes an excuse for not making progress. An alternative to being a prisoner of your research is to be an experimenter. Internships are like a series of experiments in which you try different jobs. You make a decision, implement it, and then reflect on its consequences.

While some internships lead to full-time offers, the benefit of all internships is the experience you gain on the job. You get knowledge of the working world and stories to tell future recruiters. It provides you with a level of credibility you wouldn’t otherwise have. And it can build your confidence.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Special Section for MBAs

stay Hired

Get hired

Aim

Some people become so involved in career-

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When asked what he would have done differently during his job search, one graduate business student says he would have been more focused earlier on. “You should develop the skills you know you’ll need later,” he says. Internships are excellent places to develop important skills. Companies want growth potential, but also proven abilities. For example, they need people who are already good project managers and strong communicators.

INSIDER SCOOP “Both experience and potential are important. A candidate’s past is the best indicator of his or her future success and potential. When we look at experience, we’re interested in what jobs they’ve had and companies they’ve worked for. We’re also looking at leadership and other experiences, including negotiating, solving problems, and working through conflicts, that help guide us in selecting candidates.” One recruiter mentions transferable skills, including leading, negotiating, problem solving, and conflict resolution, which are useful across many different functional areas and industries. Transferable skills fall into two categories: “hard,” meaning concrete expertise, such as in Microsoft Excel; and “soft,” which includes people skills. Soft skills are more valuable because they’re harder to teach. If your internship gives you the opportunity to develop people skills, take advantage of it. Look for opportunities to develop these transferable skills: 1. Self-management • Meeting deadlines (setting your own when necessary) •

Completing your work with quality and care

•

Calmly handling intense situations

internships

•

Successfully managing conflict

•

Maintaining a cooperative relationship with other groups or departments

3. Project-related • Seeing the big picture without losing the details Staying organized and managing your piece of the project

•

Being a team player and carrying your weight

•

Written: Showing care in spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and ensuring that what you’ve written makes sense—an organized email or memo reflects organized thinking. Employers in the NACE Job Outlook 2007 say that college job candidates are most lacking in communication skills. Improve your communication skills and you’ll better your chances of landing a full-time job. If you’re already a good communicator, tell your interviewer—but be prepared to back up your statement with examples.

Do you need to be paid? Do you have a minimum?

•

Do you want/need to be in a specific city? Which one?

•

Do you want to be in a specific industry? Which one?

•

Do you want to work for an organization of a specific size? What size?

•

Do you want experience in a specific type of job? Which one?

2. Your interests and abilities: • What types of mental challenges do you enjoy? •

How well do you communicate in writing and in person? (Be honest with yourself on this one; consider getting an opinion from someone with sterling communication skills.)

•

Do you prefer to research and analyze, or discover and create?

•

What kind of industry, company, or organization do you think you might like to work in?

•

Whose job do you think is very interesting?

Special Section for MBAs

Oral: Asking good questions (by listening well); if presenting, practicing until polished

•

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•

1. Your objectives: • Do you want to work part-time or full-time?

Get hired

4. Communication • General: Keeping people informed; delivering information clearly and concisely

There are literally thousands of internship opportunities available for the choosing. These five categories of questions can help narrow them down:

aim

•

Self-Assessment Questions Get ready

2. Interpersonal • Developing good working relationships with your supervisor and coworkers

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

11

internships

Getting Your Ideal Internship

•

Can you sit at a desk for hours and remain productive, or do you have to move around to stay energized?

•

Do you prefer working with limited flexibility and a lot of direction, or are you more comfortable with open-ended assignments and general ideas?

•

Do you like to ask a lot of questions, or do you prefer to simply do what you’re told?

•

What will make or break the internship for you—earning money, building skills, making connections, working on fun projects, having the afternoons off, or something else?

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Special Section for MBAs

stay Hired

Get hired

Aim

get ready

3. Your personality: • Do you prefer to work alone or on a team?

4. Your contacts: • Which friends of yours have had good internships—with whom, doing what? •

Which acquaintances from student clubs have connections? (Hint: Look to the officers; they might even announce your job search at a meeting.)

•

Do you, your family, or your friends know anyone who works in an industry, company, or job that you find interesting?

•

Do any of your professors have connections you can use?

5. Your target organizations: • Based on your responses to the questions above, make a list of organizations that seem to be a good fit. These could be public companies, private companies, nonprofit groups, government institutions or offices, or professional associations.

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Bridging the Gap Most people with a broad gap between their prior experience and future career field probably won’t to be able to fill such a gap through an internship. Instead, their best option may be to look for a so-called bridge employer with whom an internship will cover a portion of the gap. Take the case of a financial analyst with a large construction company who wants to move into a product development role at a pharmaceutical firm. This person has two advantages to smooth his transition: First, he has financial experience in a large organization whose work involves preplanning and multiple phases and subprojects with long timelines. Second, his industry links to numerous other industries, including equipment and materials manufacturers, that involve product development. The picture of where this person is and where he wants to go looks like this:

Bridging Career Gaps Prior Experience

Best “Bridge” Internship Options

Goal for FullTime Work

Financial analysis

1. Product development with an equipment or materials manufacturer

Product development

Preplanning

2. Financial analysis with a pharmaceutical company

Pharmaceutical company

Detailed work Multiple phases Long timelines

internships

Benefits of Internships Why an internship? For those exploring their

•

Coaching

Industry Exposure Learn what it’s like to be in the industry, field, or company of your dreams. The Internet can provide you with industry trends, a list of key players, and even analysis of a particular company. But none of that secondhand information comes close to what you can learn by working there alongside others with firsthand knowledge. Why was Product X introduced? Why was there a change of strategy about Service Y? Of all a company’s competitors, which are the ones it’s most concerned about? That information isn’t always available on a website; it’s within the walls. As an intern, you’ll gain insights that you couldn’t possibly obtain by research alone, and you’ll get them sooner.

Networking, Mentoring, and References How many times have you heard “It’s who you know?” Your supervisors, coworkers, and fellow interns likely all have connections to the “hidden” job market.

> TIP While you’re gleaning inside information about the nature of the work, future projects, and areas of growth, you’re also letting your colleagues see firsthand the quality of your work and your enthusiasm. The contacts you make may help you land a permanent position.

Ask thoughtful questions and reveal your interests. Establish a positive relationship with your supervisor, and ensure that you receive evaluations during and at the end of your tenure. Even if your ties to the WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

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FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Analytical

It’s up to you to learn which are most valued in the field you’re pursuing, and to find an internship that will allow you to cultivate and demonstrate those skills.

Special Section for MBAs

•

Research

stay hired

Hands-on experience will allow you to build marketable skills. Inherent in any fieldwork is the chance to hone your professionalism, communication skills, ability to work as part of a team, project ownership, and willingness to show initiative. What matters most to employers? Those responding to the NACE Job Outlook 2007 survey were asked to rate the importance of candidate qualities and skills on a 5-point scale, with 5 being “extremely important” and 1 being “not important.” The top attributes were communication skills (4.7 out of 5), honesty/ integrity (4.7 out of 5), interpersonal skills (4.5 out of 5), motivation/initiative (4.5 out of 5), teamwork skills (4.5 out of 5), and strong work ethic (4.5 out of 5). For suggestions on how to highlight these characteristics on your resume and in an interview, see the table called “Giving Employers What They Want” in chapter 3. Of course, internships build skills specific to the job as well. Some major skill areas are: • Administrative

•

Get hired

Skill Building

Management

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options, an internship is a great way to get a taste of a field. For people who have narrowed their focus, an internship provides the opportunity to hone skills, develop experience, and make connections that will help them find a job later.

•

Get ready

Although the graph above shows only two bridge options, others are available. In fact, most people have numerous bridges they can use to land a great job. A career adviser can help you pinpoint such bridges.

internships get ready Aim

Getting Your Ideal Internship organization don’t guarantee a full-time job, they can be a source of valuable recommendations or references for your next career move.

Academic Credit Many schools offer academic credit for approved internships in your area of study. Check with your career center and academic advisers. Generally, to receive credit, you must get approval prior to starting an internship. Ask your advisers about grading procedures, and what requirements you must meet for credit. Eligibility may depend on such factors as the duration of the internship, the nature of the projects, supervision, and evaluations.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Special Section for MBAs

stay Hired

Get hired

Compensation Many interns aren’t paid. Often, for both employers and interns, the chance to work in a real-world work setting in your future field and build your resume is compensation enough. However, the attitude toward compensation varies by field or industry, the amount of experience or education you have, and whether or not you’re returning to a company where you’ve interned before. For those who are paid, salary can vary from hourly wages to project fees to set stipends. The wider the gap in experience between you and a professional in the industry, the more willing you should be to work without pay. Of course, you have options, such as: • Accepting the unpaid work on the condition that you can fill another job simultaneously that does pay •

Asking if your work can be reviewed after two weeks to determine whether it’s worth paying you to continue

•

Asking your academic adviser how to get academic credit for the work as independent study

•

Depending on the employer, finding out if you can have free use of the employers’ products or services in some way Note: More options are listed in the “Making

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Your Own Internship” section in the next chapter. Never forget that an internship helps you gain experience and exposure. It’s an investment in your future.

internships

Get ready

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Get hired

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Special Section for MBAs

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

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Aim: Targeting Opportunities

3

Types of Internships.......................18 Where Are the Internships? ...........19 Timing the Search......................... 24 Which Track Should I Take? ........ 24 Making Your Own Internship....... 27

internships get ready Aim

Getting Your Ideal Internship

Types of Internships This guide uses the term internship to cover all

experiential learning opportunities, including summer associate and cooperative work. An internship in this guide means a position, paid or unpaid, taken by someone who’s in the process of getting a degree, either undergraduate or graduate. You may come across these other terms as you investigate and apply for internships:

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Special Section for MBAs

stay Hired

Get hired

Internship/Summer Internship This is the most common term you’ll find among organizations familiar with bringing students aboard for short-term positions. Among intern positions, the summer intern is the most common. Some companies may hire interns during the regular academic year for a semester or a quarter. On occasion, these positions are referred to by academic period (fall intern or winter quarter intern, for example).

Summer Associate Program If you have an internship in the legal, banking, or strategy consulting fields, particularly if you’re in law school or getting an MBA, you’re likely to have the title summer associate. These firms, even more than other employers, look for new full-time associates from within the ranks of their interns. The title is something of a marketing tool to attract candidates: “If you want to become an associate with us, start out as a summer associate.” In the banking industry, summer associate has supplanted junior associate, a title that’s been removed from official publications and recruiting materials. However, that title is still used in the everyday language of partners and executives. In law firms, a summer associate is typically a student between the second and third year of law school. The title sounds a little classier than law clerk, which is used within law firms to categorize junior-level legal staff. 18

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Cooperative Education (“Co-op”) A co-op is an employer-sponsored work program that generally lasts longer than a summer or a term. At some schools, though, the distinction is not the length of the assignment but the number of hours worked per week. For example, 7 hours per week would be termed an “internship” and 15 hours a week would be called a “co-op”, even though they both last one semester. Coops may be part- or full-time, but they’re usually paid. Six-month co-ops run from either January through June or July through December. Some co-ops last one year; these typically run from July through the following June. Technology employers, such as engineering and computer/ IT companies, are the most likely to have co-op programs. The career centers in the departments of engineering, computer science, and other academic majors targeted by co-ops are familiar with these programs. (See the “For Your Reference” section later in this book for information on specific co-ops.) Co-ops that last six months or a year represent a more serious interest in the student by the company than shorter stints, as the employer must assign longer-term, meaningful projects.

Much like an apprenticeship in many trades, a co-op position can serve as an employer’s way of screening and training future professionals. Other Routes to Experiential Education Temping If used shrewdly by a student, temporary agencies can become a sort of paid internship. General temp agencies typically offer standard office work, but specialized staffing agencies fulfill requests for both temporary and permanent staff in particular fields. There are a number of national as

internships

What if your prime target for an internship has just announced layoffs? The organization is still likely to need a good intern, perhaps more than ever with so many people leaving. Even if the short-term prospects are dim, you can still focus on your plans and ask about internship opportunities. Until you hear “no” a few times, keep asking. What if the rejection is emphatic? Read the section called “Refusing to Take ‘No’ as the Final Answer” in chapter 5 of this guide.

No Internships?!

As with anything in high demand, there will be competition for the most recognized and desired internships. A formal program at a large company will have a team of recruiters and hiring managers who spend most of their time picking the best-ofthe-best applicants.

.

Hiring of College Grads in 2006–07 1-Yr. Change (%)

Northeast

17.1

South

19.7

Midwest

18.4

West

19.9 Source: Job Outlook 2007 Spring Update, NACE

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Region

Special Section for MBAs

across the U.S., although most are in large cities. While all regions expect to increase hiring over the next few years, some regions will likely have more jobs than others.

The current economy is more favorable for employment, including internships, in certain industries. Over the next few years, the public accounting and consulting services areas have the most positive outlook, according to NACE’s Job Outlook 2007 Student Version. Engineering (electrical, automotive, and equipment manufacturers) and financial services/banking are also growing.

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Internships are available throughout all industries

Get hired

Where Are the Internships?

What Employers Want aim

What if the organization you’re targeting doesn’t have an internship program? You can make arrangements with that organization for summer project work and create a title for yourself—summer assistant, temporary project specialist, programming intern, marketing intern, or something similar. See “Making Your Own Internship” at the end of this chapter for more guidance.

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well as smaller regional staffing firms with such specialized divisions as management/consulting, accounting/finance, legal, technology, and creative/marketing. If no specialized staffing agency serves your area, you can go with a general temp agency and request particular placements, such as with biotech companies or PR firms. Agencies may see you as picky, but try to make it worth their while by developing an in-demand skill—expertise in, say, Microsoft Project or website production—for which they have a hard time fulfilling orders.

internships

Getting Your Ideal Internship

get ready

π When to Run the Other Way Here are tips for recognizing a less-than-ideal “internship”: • It promises quick money and lots of it. There’s a reason people say, “If it sounds too good to be true, it is.” • It’s a small organization you can’t find in the Yellow Pages. • The employer advertises its “internships” on flyers all over campus. • It’s a sales-related job and the pay is based on commission. • The employer doesn’t inquire about your experience, background, or career interests

INSIDER SCOOP “For our accounting consultants, we hire based off the resume—what previous internship experience does a person have, what’s their GPA? We don’t even ask for a cover letter.”

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

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stay Hired

Get hired

Aim

While many employers and organizations are looking for interns, not all internships are created equal. There are some duds. A good working definition of an internship is that both intern and employer get to see if there’s a match for a full-time position. Some roles might look like an internship when they’re really just part-time, temporary jobs available to almost anyone. They may even involve unchallenging busywork that an employer would rather not assign to staff. You might get paid at this type of job, but chances are slim you’ll rack up good experience leading to useful interview stories or an eyecatching bullet on your resume.

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to see if you’re a good fit for the position. • You get vague answers to your questions about the work you’d be doing. • The employer’s offices are in a questionable location, such as a warehouse area, an out-ofthe-way shopping center, or a person’s home. • The employer doesn’t ask you to complete a job application before making you an offer. • Your instincts are telling you to get out as fast as you can!

internships Get ready

Employers seek specific skills and qualities. Be aware of them so you can make yourself a stronger candidate. Below is a list of the top five qualities and skills employers rated in NACE’s Job Outlook 2006, along with ways you can improve or highlight those qualities and skills.

Giving Employers What They Want Employers want…

To highlight these skills/qualities, you should…

Communication skills (written and oral)

• Practice your responses to common interview questions to become more concise and expressive. Common questions include: “Tell me about yourself.” “Why do you want to work for us?” “Why did you pick that major for your studies?” “What do you see yourself doing in three to five years?”

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• Follow up each contact at an organization with a note or an email. • Be truthful in all your dealings with the organization. This means not exaggerating your GPA, your resume, or your availability for work. Honesty and integrity

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• Prepare a stellar cover letter and resume for each application. Don’t use the same generic letter and resume for each one. Have an adviser in your school’s career office review your letter and resume.

• Don’t withhold information that you’ll have to reveal later, making you look dishonest or unaware. A classic example is not telling your employer about a family vacation over the Fourth of July until the week before—not good. • During the interview, try to work in examples of when you showed honesty and integrity.

Motivation/initiative

• Draw on your life experience to demonstrate how you deal with people effectively. Did you have to negotiate with small children when you babysat? Or maybe you collaborated on the set design for a school play? • How you conduct your job search is the first clue to recruiters that you’re motivated. It’s fine to ask for help, but you want to be leading your job search; that shows initiative.

• Look for examples in your past that indicate how you worked extra hard to get something done. Strong work ethic (motivation, initiative, and commitment)

• Volunteer for a project with a local community group or organization that requires extra effort and initiative—more than just showing up and being told what to do. • Recognize long-term commitments to nonacademic, nonprofessional organizations that show your work ethic. For example, perhaps you’ve taken piano lessons for five years, have a green belt in tae kwon do, or are a longtime volunteer Big Brother or Big Sister. These all indicate the ability to commit and a strong work ethic.

Teamwork skills (works well with others)

• Mention teamwork as one of your strengths in your cover letter or resume, as well as in your interviews. Make sure you have a story to back it up—how you pulled off an event as part of a team, in class or a club. • Ask about the team the internship position would be part of, and mention again that you’re a team player (if you haven’t already)! WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

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• Take a role with a student or community organization that requires you to work on a team or committee.

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• Provide examples, either from school or previous job experience, where you proposed a new process, or volunteered to assume an additional task.

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• In the early stages of your search, choose your words carefully in responding to a recruiter. Interpersonal skills (relates well to others)

internships

Getting Your Ideal Internship

get ready

Sources for Internship Leads When looking for an internship, examine even the remotest possibilities. People have gotten placements through the most unlikely sources. To help you brainstorm, we’ve organized sources into more and less common leads. Increase your chances of landing a job by using sources from both categories.

Common Sources for Contacts and Internship Leads Tips

Family

• More solid opportunities come from contacts made through family members than any other source.

Aim

Source

Friends

• Your friends have families. Find out who they are and what they know about the area in which you want an internship. • Friends are the second-richest source of contacts and opportunities.

Professors

• Make sure you treat any contact from a professor like gold. You want to honor a relationship that the professor may have spent years cultivating.

Career centers

• Career centers should have more usable contacts and opportunities than any other source. Keep in mind, though, that it’s their job to help you get a position, not to get it for you. • Visit with a career adviser more than once for assistance with your letters, resumes, notes, planning, and so forth.

Alumni

• The alumni office and its website should allow you to search for alumni in the industry or organization in which you want to work.

Job-posting websites

• Be picky about the positions for which you apply. Some gems are hidden here, as well as some duds.

Newspapers

• Newspapers rarely list internships. But if the newspaper shows that a company’s hiring for a number of full-time positions, it could indicate a willingness to bring a good intern aboard, too.

Volunteer affiliations

• The chair of the organization where you volunteer may have a connection in several fields. And don’t overlook your envelope-stuffing buddy—her older brother might work at your dream company.

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Get hired

• Include aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, and others.

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internships Get ready

Uncommon Sources for Contacts and Internship Leads

• Most professional conferences have student rates; some let you attend for free in exchange for one day of volunteering. Also, most conferences have student receptions. Attend them to network with peers and working professionals. Workshops can be particularly valuable.

Company websites

• Many students overlook the career section of a company’s website in favor of the big job-posting sites. Many company sites let you apply online. Even better, get the name of a recruiter at the company from your career center and personally follow up on your online application.

Alumni magazines

• Search for career notes in the alumni publications for people recently promoted at a target company. Contact them.

Student organizations

• Connect with fellow students who have similar interests. Your school may have an outreach committee that facilitates networking and collects job postings. Join it and turn getting your internship into part of your job with the organization.

Professional associations

• If there’s a career you’re interested in, there’s a professional, dues-paying association for it. Most have student rates. Research which ones are best. Then contact them to learn about internship opportunities. • Who’s hot and who’s not? Keeping up on the news can give you the inside scoop on why you should call a target company. • From what you learn in the news, propose a study of a competitor, the industry, or trends that could be helpful to your target company.

Career libraries

• Visit a career library, a One-Stop Career Center, or the business reference section of a major university or public library. Look at industry-specific resources that list HR and/or executive contacts. The librarian can probably save you time by directing you to the right sources quickly.

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Internet search engines

• Conduct Internet searches on your target companies. Find an executive at your target company who wrote an article or gave a speech. Contact the person via email or phone and compliment him or her on the article/speech. Be sincere, and say something intelligent and thoughtful; false flattery is easy to spot. If the person seems approachable, ask about internship opportunities. You might want to have a couple of exchanges before you ask.

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News

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Professional conferences

Get hired

Tips

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Source

internships get ready Aim

Getting Your Ideal Internship

Timing the Search The timeline of your search may depend on the methods you’re using to find, apply for, and secure internships. Application deadlines vary by industry. Making your own internship instead of applying through a formal recruiting program will require different steps and potentially more time.

Which Track Should I Take?

Here are the steps you’ll need to plan for at a minimum: 1. Clarify your goals for obtaining an internship.

securing internships. Whether you’re interviewing through on-campus recruiting programs or using other methods, you are ultimately your own headhunter. Some things to keep in mind: • You’ll need to determine the employers for which you most want to work.

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2. Decide what kind of internship you want— projects, industry, time commitment, location. 3. Determine when you’ll be available to start your internship.

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There are several options for identifying and

•

You can make an internship road map using “bridge” employers.

•

Focus your message for maximum effect (think of yourself as a “product”).

5. Put together your application package: resume, cover letter, references.

•

Recognize that an employer is looking for overall fit, not just skills.

6. Research industry/organizations and prepare for interviews.

•

7. Chart deadlines for the internships of interest— application due dates, when recruiting starts, etc.

Plan how you’ll position yourself (as the solution to the employer’s problems) in your interviews and conversations.

•

8. Prioritize your application efforts based on deadlines and how they rank in helping you meet your goals.

Remember to ask for the job and to close the interview.

•

If an employer’s main office rejects you, find someone at a regional office with whom to discuss opportunities.

4. Learn about existing opportunities, or determine whether you’ll be creating your own project/ internship.

9. Interview, follow up. FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Each of these steps takes time. If you’re unclear about your career goals, you might need more time than if you know your target companies or functional skills. In general, you should plan several months before you hope to start your internship.

10. Make backup plans—does this involve casting a wider net? 11. Receive offers, commit to the best choice. 24

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internships

School/On-Campus Program So what does the on-campus recruiting process look like? Check with your career center for your school’s procedures. In general, on-campus recruiting follows a pattern similar to the one described here:

2. You’ll either bid on interview slots or submit a resume to be considered for competitive interview slots.

Researching Off-Campus Opportunities

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FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Off-campus opportunities include employers with formal programs who aren’t recruiting on your campus, and those without formal programs. Going the off-campus route could generate a wider range of possibilities. If you’re eager to work for a company that doesn’t have a formal program, you might have to sell the idea of an internship, not to mention yourself as the prime candidate. See the “Making Your Own Internship” section below for more details on creative approaches. Where to find employers offering internships? Visit your campus career center, read the “For Your Reference” chapter at the end of this guide, and check the following resources.

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At first blush, this process seems simple, egalitarian, and efficient. The truth is that it’s often complex, totalitarian, and cumbersome. The candidate who lands the job isn’t necessarily the most qualified one; it’s the person who presents himself or herself best. It’s possible to wedge your way back into the competition even if you feel shut out, but you’ve got to work within the system.

• If you don’t hear back from a company contact,

• If you get a “no” at any point, take it gracefully and abort the process. Still, send the representative a thank-you note and reiterate your interest in interning for the company. Then, try to find another person in the organization (a friend or alum) who can forward your resume internally.

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4. If all goes well, next-round interviews will take place at employers’ offices. Throughout the process, you’ll spend a good deal of time networking and sending thank-you notes.

• If a company doesn’t select you for an interview, write to the contact and ask for an alternative means to express your interest in an internship.

show up early on interview day (dressed for an interview, with resume at the ready). Ask if you can have two to three minutes of the representative’s time.

Get hired

3. Next, you’ll complete on-campus interview(s) with employers who’ve chosen you to be part of their interview lineup.

• Write to the contacts you’ve made at your five primary and five bridge employer companies that are coming to campus. Let them know your interest, regardless of whether they’re interviewing for interns in your major or another program. If you don’t find the right person right away, ask who it is.

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1. You’ll start by registering with the career office and completing a profile that includes at least one version of your resume.

π 4 Tips to Improve Your Odds Get ready

By taking responsibility for your career path, you’ll be more likely to land the internship of your dreams. Take advantage of on-campus interviews, but be alert for other opportunities.

internships get ready

Getting Your Ideal Internship

For an employer with an internship program, the offcampus path is similar to the on-campus process, but you must initiate contact.

Professional Associations and Industry Conferences Many associations offer members professional development programs and may be able to direct you toward training opportunities. Networking at local chapter meetings is a good way to get the inside scoop on which employers are hiring. Such organizations also sponsor industry conferences, another good place to uncover internships.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

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stay Hired

Get hired

Aim

Personal Networks Internet Job and career websites, company websites, and sites devoted to internships all have searchable databases. Common search parameters are career field, function, level, and location. Sites maintained by college career centers are particularly rich resources; they often provide lists of links and have their own internship databases. On many of these sites, clicking on “Current Students” will take you right to the career services link. And don’t forget WetFeet’s Internship Programs search engine (www.internshipprograms.com).

Publications Numerous print publications compile lists of existing internship programs. These publications address specific industries, international opportunities, and “top” internships. Many are updated annually and contain contact information and descriptive summaries, including qualifications and deadlines.

Job Fairs Campus and industry job fairs offer good opportunities to investigate internships. Many campus career centers post schedules of upcoming job fairs. You can also check local newspapers and industry publications or association websites for job fair announcements. Attend these job fairs prepared to speak directly with company representatives about current or future opportunities. It helps to have a resume and a focused message to make the most of your time with the recruiter. 26

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Using your existing social, family, and professional/ peer networks is a great way to get started. For example, one former intern we spoke with used peer connections to land an international internship in Hong Kong. After identifying the employer’s need, he created a unique role and was hired into a paid internship. “You’re going to be able to find a wider variety of opportunities more quickly and more individually tailored than you would through a formal channel,” he says.

internships

Throughout your work life you’ll be learning

Select Your Industry/Employer

Find someone in the department where you’d like to work. Speak with him or her about the projects that are sitting on the shelf gathering dust. Be prepared to

When you contact an organization about making your own internship, use the tips and techniques on the following pages. Have a general idea of the type of project you’d like to do. Is it in research, marketing, finance, information technology, or operations? If you have a target industry, apply the project idea to an organization there. Chris, a student at the University of Texas at Austin, contacted a business school alumnus at Nike WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

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FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Select Your Project

Examples of Self-Made Internships

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It might be simpler to create your own project and get paid for it with an employer that doesn’t have a formal internship program. However, don’t give up on employers that do have formal programs. Many employers coordinate programs from a regional or national headquarters office. These same employers may have branch offices that don’t take part in their corporate office’s program and could likely use some additional help during the summer or for particular projects.

If you’re contacting companies with structured or centralized recruiting groups, you may be directed to recruiting coordinators or campus liaisons. Many process-oriented organizations rely on a generic recruiting pipeline. If they try to redirect you, you might tell your contact that you want to create a unique experience that wouldn’t be available through an internship program, and that you’d prefer to take less compensation in return for having more control over your work. Refer to the “Get Over Cold-Calling Cold Feet” worksheet below to help you start talking with prospective employers about individualized internships or short-term projects.

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To make the most impact on potential employers, concentrate on one functional area. Without this focus, you’ll come across as vague and unenthusiastic. Once you’ve selected an area, you’ll look like a confident, mature professional, and will be more likely to impress an employer. Remember, you can always change your mind as your interests shift.

Develop a solid command of industry and employer to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding and your desire to work with your target companies.

Get hired

Select Your Functional Area

> TIP

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which aspects of a job energize you and which seem like a chore. If you’re proactive in your career development, you can kick-start your ideal career through an ideal internship. Like choosing lunch at an upscale cafeteria (the kind you find at high-tech companies), building your internship from scratch lets you pick and choose the ingredients for the perfect meal. You select the department you want to work in, the employer, and even the project.

discuss some of your project ideas, or at least to jumpstart that person’s thinking. Once you identify where the department needs help, suggest some of the things you’d like to do and see if there’s a match. This way, you’re helping solve the employer’s problem while also tailoring the project to what you’d like to learn or gain experience in.

Get ready

Making Your Own Internship

internships get ready Aim Get hired stay Hired

to talk about possible marketing projects. The alum had just taken a new job in the children’s apparel division for Mexico. During the spring semester, Chris did some research on this market and analyzed key competitors. He shared it with the alum, who shared it with colleagues. Nike offered him a summer internship. Along with some great branded clothing and shoes he received over the summer, Chris gained strong experience in strategic retail planning. That experience, and the credibility he gained from it, helped him land a series of interviews and an offer for a full-time position with consulting giant McKinsey & Company. Another example: Michael contacted Capital Sports & Entertainment (CSE), the agency that represents Lance Armstrong. He proposed a number of ideas that could help the firm generate revenue. His enthusiasm and follow-through led to a summer internship, and CSE was so impressed with his work that it kept him as a part-time employee during his final year in school. After graduation, CSE asked him to join the firm full-time. The message is that if you set a goal and go after it, you’ll often reach it in ways you never thought possible. Some hurdles are inevitable, but you don’t have to let them discourage you. With persistence and the ability to learn quickly, you’ll get a terrific internship. Consider the following types of projects you can do for an organization. As you speak with people in the position to hire you, use one of these project ideas—or your own—as a starting point. Get those people thinking about what you could do for them.

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Getting Your Ideal Internship

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Project Ideas by Industry Industry

Sample Projects

Marketing

• Research, compare, and analyze competitors. • Research, compare, and analyze competing products or services. • Survey customers about their needs.

Finance

• Study cost structure overall, or for specific products or services, to find possible cost savings. • Create a model that shows how changes in one business segment would affect the bottom line. • Examine billing processes to find ways to streamline.

Information technology

• Conduct a technology assessment for a particular group/department/division. • Review IT security procedures, compare against industry best practices, and identify any problem areas (gap analysis). • Determine ways to improve Web accessibility.

Operations

• Study a key process/procedure involving a particular product or service to find possible cost savings. • Identify business processes/procedures that could be made more efficient. • Find key areas in which processes/procedures should be documented, and document them.

internships

Get Over Cold-Calling Cold Feet

Motivation—Getting Started Cold calling is tough, no doubt about it! So make your first five calls to people who are likely to be more receptive. These might be: • Friends and family in the working world

•

Peers within your program (these can be practice calls)

•

Career advisers (to get feedback on your approach)

•

Friends of peers in your academic program

Be focused.

•

Be concise.

•

Be sincere.

•

Be insightful.

Your goal should be to eventually get a face-to-face meeting. But don’t press too hard if the person doesn’t seem amenable to it. Emphasize that the meeting could be short—ten minutes or so—and could be in or out of the office. Some people who are terse and stressed in their work environment become relaxed and chatty if given the chance for a quick coffee break. Others prefer that you come to their office, so they can continue to field calls during your visit. Whatever their preference, respect the fact that their time is valuable. If the contact agrees to a 20-minute meeting, keep it to 20 minutes.

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Alumni in jobs at your target companies

•

aim

•

Practice the “[insert name of referrer] recommended I talk with you” portion of your calls. • Be friendly.

Get ready

Below are sample scripts to help guide you when conducting cold calls for independent internships or summer projects. Use the parts you’re comfortable with, and create new scripts for yourself once you’ve made some calls and gained confidence.

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Getting Your Ideal Internship

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

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stay Hired

Get hired

Aim

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Sample Scripts for Talking with Receptionists/Gatekeepers Hints: These are folks who have been trained to screen calls and direct job hunters to the company website or to HR. Since they have the power to connect or deflect you, it pays to be polite and respectful. Managers sometimes ask the receptionist how the caller spoke to him or her as well. Tell the receptionist that you’d like to speak with someone in the [fill in blank] department to better understand the department work. Before your call is transferred, ask for the name of the person with whom you’re being connected. Live script: “Hello. My name is [insert your name]. I’m a student in the [insert name] program at the school of [insert name] at [insert name] University. I’d like to speak with someone in your [insert department name] department to learn more about the type of work they’re doing. Can you transfer me to a manager who oversees work that involves [insert type of work]? Voicemail script: “Hello. My name is [insert your name]. I’m a student in the [insert name] program at the school of [insert name] at [insert name] University. I’d like to speak with someone in your [insert department name] department to learn more about the type of work they’re doing. I’ll contact you later this week to see whom you would recommend I speak with. If you’re able to forward this message to the appropriate person, they can contact me at [insert your phone number]. Thank you.”

Possible Responses, and Scripts for Your Reply “Why?” “I’m trying to learn more about [insert type of work] in the [insert industry name] industry. Talking to people who do that work is the best way for me to understand it.” “No!” “Could you pass along a message to someone 30

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for me, then? I’m trying to learn more about [insert type of work] in the [insert industry name] industry. Talking to people who do that work is the best way for me to understand it.” “Go to our website.” “I’ve been there [Don’t lie!]. But it doesn’t talk about the [insert type of work] work that’s going on in the [insert department name] department/group [or: in much detail]. That’s why I’d like to talk to someone who’s actually doing that type of work. Whom would you recommend I speak with?” “I can’t give names.” “I understand the need to protect everyone’s privacy. If you know of someone who would be good to talk to about the [insert type of work] work within the [insert name of department] department/group, could you transfer me to their voicemail so I can leave a message?” If you don’t know the name or have the contact number, the voicemail script will have to change; you’ll have to leave a name and callback number.

Tips for Talking with HR Managers/ Recruiters/Staffing Personnel It’s difficult to know whether these people are decision makers—you should speak with them in depth if they are—or paper pushers (people who are told what to do). A good default position is to ask them to direct you to someone who actually does the job or oversees the job in which you’re interested. Use the scripts for receptionists. If the person you’re speaking with sounds and acts like a decision maker, switch to the scripts for the line managers and ask the person about the work itself. If he or she isn’t sure about the work, ask if you can speak with someone who’s involved.

Sample Scripts for Talking with Line Managers/People Doing the Work Hint: Be respectful of these individuals’ time, knowledge, and ability to connect you to other people.

internships

“We don’t have a budget.” “I understand how tight things must be. I just want to gain some good experience and exposure. What types of projects are in need of attention right now?” “How much will it cost?” “We could approach this in a number of ways: • You could pay me, say, $20 an hour for however many hours I work per week.”

•

I might even be able to work two days a week for free for a month. Then we could reevaluate things and agree on an amount that I’d be paid after that.”

•

Mainly I’m looking for an opportunity to learn. Perhaps we could talk about the possibility of my participating in your organization’s conferences or other training activities?”

Possible Responses, and Scripts for Your Reply

“There’s no work.” “Thank you for being candid. Could we still talk for a moment about the types of projects you have under way? If I can better understand the challenges and opportunities you face, it will help me set my expectations for now and for the rest of my academic program.” At the end: “Would you recommend I speak with anyone else there who does [fill in blank] work? Or do you know someone at another company doing [fill in blank] work who could use a hand over the summer?”

Special Section for MBAs FOR YOUR REFERENCE

“Now is a good time to talk.” “I appreciate your time. To supplement my studies, I’d like to speak with you about the types of work and projects you currently have under way, and to understand your perspective on the [insert name of industry] industry. I’m putting together projects I can do this summer to get hands-on experience in the [insert name] area. One project idea that comes to mind, based on reading about your [fill in blank] work, is [fill in blank]. Can you tell me a little about the main projects you currently have under way?” [Use some questions from the “Cold-Calling Questions” worksheet that follows.] “Can’t talk now.” “I know you’re very busy, which is one of the reasons I’d like to schedule some time to speak with you at a later date. When can we arrange ten minutes or so to talk that would be more convenient for you?” “What’s an internship [or summer project]?” “A summer project could be almost anything we decide on. Ideally, it would be very meaningful and necessary for you and your department or team, while providing me with some in-depth experience and opportunities to use my skills

stay hired

Perhaps I could work two weeks at $10 to $15 an hour. Then we could reevaluate the impact of my work and level of pay.” Get hired

•

aim

Voicemail script: “Hello. My name is [insert your name]. I’m a student in the [insert name] program at the school of [insert name] at [insert name] University. [Insert name] recommended I speak with you. To supplement my studies, I’d like to discuss the types of work and projects you currently have under way, and to understand your perspective on the [insert name of industry] industry. I’m putting together projects I can do this summer to get handson experience in the [insert name] area. One project idea that comes to mind, based on reading about your [fill in blank] work, is [fill in blank]. My interests and training are in [fill in blank], and I have [insert number of years] years of experience in [fill in blank]. You can reach me at [insert contact info]. I’ll be in touch in the next few days and look forward to talking with you soon. Thank you.”

and develop others. For instance, since it appears that you’re doing [fill in blank], I could help with [fill in blank] or [fill in blank] in some way. Can we talk more about that?”

Get ready

Live script: “Hello. My name is [insert your name]. I’m a student in the [insert name] program at the school of [insert name] at [insert name] University. [Insert name] recommended I speak with you. Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

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internships

Getting Your Ideal Internship

get ready

Cold-Calling Questions Once you have a call or meeting scheduled, use this tool to get more information about a role, group, department, or organization. It’s very important to adapt these questions so they’re relevant to the department, project, role, or position that interests you. Keep these questions in mind, take note of the unique lingo used by your contact, and hit your selling points (transferable skills, experiences, knowledge, and so on). Here are some questions to get you started, but remember to use your own words.

About the Organization

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Special Section for MBAs

stay Hired

Get hired

Aim

How does this role (position or department) fit into the larger organization? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________ What is the size of your department/group? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________ How centralized is the group? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________ How is information within the organization typically communicated? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________

About the Role/Career What are some of the current challenges? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________ What profit and loss responsibilities does each team have? [for an MBA or managerial role] Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Can you describe the (cyclical) nature of the work or department? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________ What is the typical length of the main projects? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________ What is the management style like within the company or department? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ 32

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Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________

What are some typical last-minute issues? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________

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What are the opportunities for growth and promotion? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________

About Success Factors

What are some of the key metrics and expectations for the role? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________

Can you describe the performance review process? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________ How is the volume of work for this role measured? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________

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FOR YOUR REFERENCE

What are the most critical attributes needed to be successful? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________

Special Section for MBAs

Is taking initiative or innovating encouraged? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________

stay hired

What are some critical challenges? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________

Get hired

If a vacancy, what did people previously in the role do well or not well? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________

aim

Is this a new role or a vacancy? Unique lingo used: _ ______________________________________________________________________ Your selling points: _ ______________________________________________________________________

internships

Getting Your Ideal Internship

get ready

Select Your Team When speaking with a prospective employer about potential projects, you may be in a good position to request work with particular people or groups. Consider mapping out your ideal internship/ volunteer/summer project experience, including the people you’d be working with. For example:

Aim

Functional area: Finance focus—with some marketing thrown in, if possible Industry/employer: Large real-estate development and management firms/companies

Get hired

Project: 1. Develop a model to identify optimum midmarket locations for multianchored retail centers. 2. Determine how best to promote these opportunities internally and to investors.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Special Section for MBAs

stay Hired

3. Present your findings to the highest-ranking senior members of the company possible.

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> TIP Research the company thoroughly and pay close attention to the terminology used by the person you’re speaking to when he or she describes the type of work available and the key people or teams involved.

Team: The ideal team would involve: 1. Demographic research 2. Finance 3. Project development 4. Marketing 5. Investor relations 6. Executive review committee Note that this is your ideal project and team composition. It’s not a list you hand to the employer; keep it in your head. Be gracious and enthusiastic when making a request, saying something like, “Will I get to work with marketing?” or, “Oh, I was hoping to interface with engineering”—and make sure your request sounds like a request, not a demand. Keep in mind that no matter whom you work with and how it turns out, there are benefits to any kind of internship, including the experience you gain and the addition to your resume.

internships

Select Your Hours and Compensation Get ready

While established internship programs typically have set hours and compensation, projects you create are usually more flexible and open to negotiation. Expect to be paid less, on average, or to receive no compensation at all. Since you probably still have bills to pay, you and the employer may agree to a less-thanfull-time schedule. A few ways you can structure the hours and pay for the project include:

aim

1. Working part-time for free for the entire internship/project; or working full-time without pay, but only for a limited amount of time—say, four to six weeks. In either case, you’ll have the opportunity to take another job that pays.

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3.

Get hired

2. Working full-time for, say, two to four weeks, and then having a review meeting, during which the employer will decide whether to pay you to complete your work. You can still choose to complete the project while working elsewhere to earn some more money. Agreeing to a low hourly wage with the opportunity to earn a bonus for superior work. The bonus is at the employer’s discretion.

Special Section for MBAs

4. Agreeing to a flat fee that’s paid in thirds— one-third up front, one-third following a predetermined review in the middle of the project, and the final third at the project’s successful completion.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

5. Agreeing to a trade. The employer may have a product or service you’d be willing to receive in lieu of wages. This may include professional development activities, such as participation in seminars, training, and conferences.

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internships

Getting Your Ideal Internship Make Your Own Internship

get ready

Use this worksheet to help you create the best possible independent internship or project experience. Functional area: Choose a functional area, such as accounting, finance, information systems, management, marketing, or operations. One major function:_ _____________________________________________________________________ One minor function: _ ___________________________________________________________________ Industry/employer: Narrow your search to an ideal industry, and then select specific employers to target. Aim

Industry: _______________________________________________________________________________ Employer: ______________________________________________________________________________ Employer: ______________________________________________________________________________ Employer: ______________________________________________________________________________ Get hired

Employer: ______________________________________________________________________________ Project: Have specific elements (topics, methods, outcomes, and so forth) in mind for your project. Tailor your project suggestions to each employer with whom you speak.

Your Words

Their Lingo

Special Section for MBAs

stay Hired

Element: ________________________________________ ______________________________________ Element: ________________________________________ ______________________________________ Element: ________________________________________ ______________________________________ Element: ________________________________________ ______________________________________ Element: ________________________________________ ______________________________________ Team: Think about which people, teams, divisions, or committees you want your project to involve, and discuss this with the employer while mapping out the project.

Your Words

Their Lingo

Person/Group:____________________________________ ______________________________________

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Person/Group:____________________________________ ______________________________________ Person/Group:____________________________________ ______________________________________ Person/Group:____________________________________ _ _____________________________________ Person/Group:____________________________________ _ _____________________________________ Person/Group:____________________________________ _ _____________________________________ 36

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Select Your Full-Time Job Get ready

If you’ve successfully customized an internship to your strengths and ambitions, and if you’ve made an impact on the employer, you are well-positioned to discuss full-time opportunities. It might be that you want a job doing exactly what your project required. Great! You’ve just proven how successful you would be doing it. Maybe you’ve made strong inroads into other groups or divisions at the company. If so, you can apply the same methods you used to secure the original project to garner a full-time role with these new groups. In either case, the way in which you created and completed the project demonstrates your desire, follow-through, and ability to help an organization.

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Your Takeaway

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A better sense of what you want to do and with whom

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Good contacts in the industry

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A better understanding of industry tools, language, and practices

•

Enhanced negotiation skills

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A boost in your self-confidence and self-worth

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Job-specific and transferable skills stay hired

•

Get hired

If you decide not to pursue full-time opportunities with the same employer, you’ll still benefit from your customized project by gaining: • Tremendous experience and exposure

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

A well-orchestrated, customized, independent project proves you have the drive and determination to find the full-time job that’s best for you.

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Get Hired: The Process

4

Be the Ideal Candidate................... 40 International Students.....................41

Americans Pursuing . Opportunities Abroad.................... 43 Getting the Yes............................... 44

Refusing to Take ‘No’ . as the Final Answer........................ 47 The Employers’ Perspective—. Ability, Possibility, and Fit.............. 50

internships get ready Aim

Getting Your Ideal Internship

Be the Ideal Candidate Several employers responding to NACE’s Job

Outlook 2007 survey offered practical advice to college students about how to become a perfect job candidate. We include some of their recommendations here because they apply equally to internship candidates. You don’t need us to tell you that an internship should be approached as a bona fide job, including treating the internship interview as a job interview.

Get hired stay Hired

• Be prepared. Take part in mock interviews; practice with a friend or out loud on your own. Get your stories down cold for behavioral questions. You can use these stories to showcase your strengths in addressing particular situations. Prepare a list of intelligent questions to ask. All this will demonstrate that you’re a serious candidate. Employers also say that being punctual, dressing appropriately, and presenting a professional manner are important.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Special Section for MBAs

Companies Screen Out, Not In Remember that the interviewing process is geared to screen out candidates. Your goal is to portray yourself as the best person for the job. Employers have a multitude of reasons for removing a candidate from consideration. Here are the top ten reasons: 1. A letter that’s not addressed to a specific person (Dear MBA Recruiter, To Whom It May Concern, or ATTN: Vice President, Marketing)

π The Basics • Do your homework. Researching the organization and potential job is the single most important thing you can do before any interview. With so many resources available—the Internet, career centers, career fairs—there’s no excuse for being uninformed. Some fundamental research will enable you to ask intelligent questions during the interview.

To be the ideal candidate, you need to have a clear, insightful understanding of your target organization and industry or field. You must also be able to articulate your goals and how they match or complement those of the organization.

2. A resume that isn’t presented well and/or doesn’t reflect the skills required for the position 3. A letter/interview style that overuses generic phrases like “your company” or “your position” in a way that indicates it’s just that—a generic message being sent to any number of employers 4. Poor communication skills (poor grammar, spelling, speech) 5. Poor preparation 6

Poor grooming/attire

7. Poor manners 8. Lack of enthusiasm 9. No effort made at building rapport 10. Too arrogant or, on the flip side, no selfconfidence

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•

Have your resume reviewed and reviewed and reviewed again! Take advantage of any relevant workshops offered by your college career center.

•

Practice, practice, practice. You can script voicemail messages in advance. Have your letters reviewed (yes, and reviewed again). Conduct a mock interview and videotape it, if possible. Then review the tape and make notes about the things you did well and the areas you’d like to improve. Again, visit your college career center, where you’re bound to find interview workshops, mock interviews, and possibly even video critiques.

•

Get feedback from your peers about your conversational style. For example, if you come off sounding cocky, work at toning down your delivery. If your delivery is halting and your tone of voice too soft and retiring—that is, if you sound unsure of yourself—work on a smooth, enthusiastic delivery. Remember: You have a lot to offer!

international Students While everyone faces unique challenges during the job or internship search, international students may face particularly difficult obstacles. In particular, employers are concerned about: • Communication skills •

Ability to work within the company culture

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Relevance of overseas experience in the U.S. marketplace

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Rigor of secondary/post-secondary education overseas

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Legal questions regarding ability to work in the U.S.

•

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FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Be conservative. Be sensitive. Be mindful and respectful of the employer’s representatives. If you have a complaint about an employer, don’t vent. Find a discreet moment to address it with your career office.

•

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•

Find out what the employer’s dress code is from former employees and interns. You might even observe people entering and exiting the building at lunchtime. Lay out professional attire before interview days. You don’t want to find a missing button on your favorite dress shirt minutes before you’re about to leave. If you’re unsure, consider having the career office review your clothes a few days before your interviews.

Be friendly and conversational, all in a natural manner. Ask diplomatic, clarifying questions in an interview, over the phone, and in your correspondence.

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•

Research the employer. Speak with former employees, especially recent interns and graduates. Be thoughtful and articulate with your knowledge. Again, practice!

•

Get hired

Use the names of both the employer and the specific position a couple of times in your letter and during the interview.

Review what you seek in an employer and a role. Think about what gets you excited in your work, and determine how the target organization meets your needs. Build yourself up. Recognize that you are a great candidate.

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•

•

Get ready

Don’t lose heart. You can turn all of these points around with the following measures: • Find a person to whom you can send a letter or with whom you can communicate.

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International students (particularly those whose native language isn’t English) can address these concerns in the following ways: • Hone your communication skills. •

Ensure that your resume and cover letter are wellwritten and grammatically correct.

•

Highlight any English-related education and work environments on your resume.

•

Leave well-crafted, scripted voicemails for those whom you’re networking with or contacting about a job. Take conversational English courses if necessary.

Get hired

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Get comfortable expressing the nuances of your personality and character in English. Don’t be shy about your accent. You can show enthusiasm, candor, humor, curiosity, and insight even if English is your second or third language. You’ll improve your chances for employment.

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•

Ability to work within the company culture: Mention any experience in industries, work environments, and functional areas similar to those for which the employer is hiring.

•

Relevance of overseas experience in the U.S. marketplace: Explain the context of an overseas employer’s business if it’s not immediately obvious to the reader from your resume or cover letter. For example: “Micro Eletrônica is the largest circuit board manufacturer in Brazil.”

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FOR YOUR REFERENCE

•

Special Section for MBAs

Aim

get ready

Getting Your Ideal Internship •

•

Rigor of secondary/post-secondary education overseas: Highlight the stature of the institution and your grades and/or graduation rank in your resume and cover letter. For example: “Delhi University (the third-largest engineering university in India), June 1998; bachelor of engineering, class rank 14/367; all courses were taught in English.” Legal questions regarding ability to work in the U.S.: If you require sponsorship to work permanently in the U.S., there’s no need to say so on your resume or cover letter.

π Working Legally in the U.S. If you’re an international student, be sure you have a clear understanding of the legal limitations on your work in the U.S. For instance, the U.S. government can issue a visa to an international student to come to the country for a full-time MBA program, a one-year dual-degree program, or even a semester-long exchange program. And each visa has different work authorization stipulations. (More information on the different types of educationally related visas is available at EducationUSA, a government website:

http://educationusa. state.gov/usvisa.htm.) Most U.S. universities and colleges have an office that assists international students with various services, programs, and workshops, including ones that furnish details on how to use curricular practical training (CPT), which allows international students to work while in the U.S. Optional practical training (OPT) also is available to some international students; OPT allows you to work in the U.S. for up to a year following the completion of U.S.based academic work.

internships

Americans Pursuing Opportunities Abroad

Get ready

Similar to an internship at home, you’ll make

Get hired stay hired Special Section for MBAs

the most of your internship overseas if it includes targeted projects that will help you achieve your career goals. There are many opportunities for short-term internships or work abroad. These programs are becoming more prevalent as alternatives to traditional foreign study. In addition, for people who aren’t affiliated with academic programs, volunteering through structured, so-called service-learning programs can offer the same benefits as formalized internships. Develop a focus: Do you want to work in development, educational programs (such as teaching English), or business? Do you want to use or develop language skills? Will you do anything if it gets you an internship in Paris or Singapore? Mapping out your priorities will help you target your search for international opportunities. Take this advice from someone who completed an internship in Hong Kong: “Start broad in focus, and the more you increase your focus, the more you increase your chances of success. It’s an iterative process. Keep telling people what you’re after.” Check out the resource list at the end of this guide to get a sense of the breadth of options available to you.

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Many employers treat internships as extended interview sessions to see if students will make good full-time employees. If an employer has a policy against sponsoring international students for permanent work authorization, then it goes without saying that that employer is unlikely to hire international students as interns. That said, a considerable number of employers will take on international students as interns and/or will sponsor them for permanent work authorization. Check with your career services office to learn which companies do. U.S. students with ethnic names also may face questions about work authorization and communication skills. If you’ve had to deal with this kind of scrutiny, you may want to state your U.S. citizenship clearly in your resume and cover letter. Following up a resume and cover letter with a voicemail is another wise tactic to alleviate potential concerns about communication skills. Recognizing these challenges early is the first step in diminishing their potential limitations. The advice in this guide can be helpful regardless of nationality or work authorization.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE 43

internships

Getting Your Ideal Internship

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Special Section for MBAs

stay Hired

Get hired

Aim

get ready

Cultural Appropriateness

As you explore your possibilities, tighten your focus and your message; this will make clear to potential employers how your skills and interests match their needs. Work Permits/Visas for Students A work permit for a paid internship (or short-term employment) in most countries must be obtained in the U.S. before heading abroad. The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) and British Universities North America Club (BUNAC) are two major organizations that grant students and recent graduates a work permit for a fee, and provide authorizations for various countries. Check their websites to determine which ones will suit your internship goals. Formalized, U.S.-based programs offering international work exchanges or structured volunteer positions will provide participants with the appropriate papers to work in the positions they offer.

U.S. Companies Abroad You may be interested in working overseas for a U.S. company or organization. If you don’t already have a work permit for the countries you’re considering (through dual citizenship or other means), this may be one of the easier routes to take. Contact your target organization’s U.S. offices and find out about opportunities abroad. Conversely, to jump-start your international career, you may want to target foreign companies with offices in the U.S.

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Foreign institutions’ hiring processes may differ from what you’re accustomed to in the States. For example, they may request a CV (curriculum vitae) instead of a resume, or have different ideas of appropriate interview and business etiquette. Some countries even expect a photograph with the CV. While relevant language skills may be necessary to perform well in some placements, be sure you’re also familiar with the customs and the industry in your target country. Cultural competence is important for landing the internship and essential for successfully completing it. You may want to find a good multicultural guide. Individual guides are available for specific countries, such as Mexico and Japan, but you may also find a guide that reviews the cultural differences for numerous countries.

Getting the Yes Common sense will tell you that when it comes to

securing an internship, you should conduct yourself in a manner similar to that of your employer. This doesn’t mean you should pretend to be something you’re not. However, if you research employers thoroughly, you’ll be more likely to find the right match.

The Right Lingo In an interview, you’ll need to speak intelligently about your target role and ask questions accordingly. That will show you’re paying attention. It will also demonstrate profound interest in the company.

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π Face Time Counts

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What are some of the current challenges in this department?

•

What profit and loss responsibilities does each team have? [for an MBA or managerial role]

•

Is the work cyclical at all?

•

What is the typical length of the main projects?

•

What are some of the key metrics and expectations for this role?

•

What are the most compelling changes in the marketplace that are affecting XYZ right now?

•

Can you describe the performance review process?

The Right Rapport The first question an interviewing group may ask each other after speaking with a candidate is, “What do you think?” And the first responses to that question are mostly emotional or gut reactions. The candidate fits in or doesn’t. Eventually they may deliberate a candidate’s responses, but only after taking a general pulse. It’s this general pulse that reflects whether the candidate has built a rapport with the interviewers.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Don’t ask questions during an interview that a few minutes on the employer’s website could have answered. Be aware that you may have the opportunity to ask just two or three questions, so choose wisely.

How does this role (position or department) fit into the larger organization?

Special Section for MBAs

> TIP

•

stay hired

It’s crucial to understand your target business. “You can kill yourself with the first question if it’s too vague or shows lack of knowledge or research into the company,” says a hiring supervisor for an undergraduate internship program at a major consulting firm. Company recruiters often share information with each other. Once you’ve made the impression that you’re uninformed or uninterested, you’ll be scrambling to undo it. Most of us are familiar with the saying “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.” However, there are stupid questions when 1) first meeting your potential in-laws, and 2) interviewing for a job.

If a vacancy, what did people previously in the role do well or not well?

Get hired

The Right Questions

•

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you’d like to do. Talk to alumni or personal contacts who work or have worked for your prospective employer. Meet with peers who’ve done internships in the same target functional area or industry. Meet with students who are ahead of you in your academic program and plan to pursue similar careers. Research isn’t all about reading.

Get ready

It’s critical to gather firsthand data from others in the know when you’re researching your ideal internship. You can read company websites and industry journals, but you won’t learn the nuances of an industry or the inner workings of an employer that way—you have to get up close and personal. Speak with people who are doing the work

Here are several intelligent questions to ask (most of them should sound familiar, since they’re from the Cold-Calling worksheet in the previous chapter): • Is this a new role or a vacancy?

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internships

Getting Your Ideal Internship

Get hired

Aim

get ready

π Hitting It Off Rapport is an emotional bond or friendly relationship between people based on mutual liking, trust, and a sense that they understand and share each other’s concerns. Your interviewer will be thinking, “Is this candidate the right person for the job, for the team, for the company?” In other

words, “Is this someone I want working for me, with me, or with my clients and customers?” And, of course, you’re thinking the same thing from the opposite perspective. It’s a natural part of the interview process; just don’t let it overshadow all the nuts-and-bolts job content you need to discuss.

If you build a strong rapport with one or more members of the interviewing team, they can act as your advocates during the team’s deliberations. But how do you build rapport? Here are ten suggestions to help you get interviewers on your side:

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Special Section for MBAs

stay Hired

1. Be on time. 2. Dress appropriately (professional attire; if you’re unsure, err toward conservative). 3. Greet the interviewer warmly (eye contact, smile, firm handshake) and let him or her know up front that you’re glad to have the opportunity to interview. 4. Manage your nerves with whatever method works for you—deep breathing, visualizing success, or something else. Consider that the interviewer may be more nervous than you are, particularly if he or she is inexperienced. If the interviewer is at ease because you’re smiling and at ease, he or she may unconsciously attribute those positive feelings to you. 5. Maintain an attentive, engaging, and enthusiastic demeanor and attitude throughout the interview. Appropriate humor in small doses is also a good thing. 6. When starting to respond to a question, 46

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occasionally give a brief overview of the points you want to cover and verify them with the interviewer. For example, “There’s a particular project I have in mind from when I worked at ABC Company that involved aspects of finance, marketing, and operations. If that sounds like an example of what you’re looking for, I can go into some of the details of my work there.” 7. When responding to questions, occasionally end with a question of your own. For example, “On which of those points can I go into more detail for you?” or “What projects that I just mentioned would you like more information about?” 8. If a question is vague or unclear, ask clarifying questions. This is almost mandatory during casestyle interviews. 9. Make sure you “close” the interview. Reiterate your interest in the position, and ask for the interviewer’s business card. Give a friendly closing handshake as well. 10. Send a personalized thank-you note or email within 24 hours. Include thoughtful comments about the interview. When relevant, refer to something personal that the interviewer mentioned: “Good luck shopping for that new van,” or “I hope the big surprise birthday party is a success this weekend.” In the end, rapport is subjective. Is your interview performance judged differently at the beginning of the day, before lunch, right after lunch, at the end of the day? Yes, it probably is. The best thing you can do to establish a good rapport with your interviewer is to prepare, practice, and mean what you say. Otherwise you’ll come off sounding insincere, and an interviewer will pick up on that very quickly.

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When a company rejects your application for an

Off-Campus Interviews and ‘Maybes’

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WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

Special Section for MBAs

Most of the tactics mentioned here also apply to off-campus employers. The critical difference is that employers without a structured internship program usually take longer to make an employment decision than organizations that have formal programs. This means you need patience and persistence when dealing with them. The best thing for you to do regarding your top-choice employers is to stay in touch with your key contacts there. When you do touch base, don’t simply say: “Hi, just getting back in touch to let you know I’m still looking for an internship or summer project. I’d really appreciate anything you can do to help.” Give them ideas for projects you could do, update them on your current work or academic projects, and/or send them a link to a relevant website or other resource they might consider of interest.

stay hired

The odds of turning a “no” into a “maybe” are best when candidates are being considered for the first round of interviews. During subsequent rounds, it gets tougher. If the employer is one of your top five choices, then it’s worth taking the extra time and energy to stay in the candidate pool. You should contact the employer, sell yourself more strongly as the right candidate for the position, and request a second chance for an interview. If you already know the recruiter, contact that person. If you know someone from the functional team with whom the intern will work, contact that employee. Simple messages always work best. Don’t blame anyone for not being selected. If you’re given a chance to state your case and are rejected a second time, it’s best not to appeal. It could damage your future chances for a full-time job because you’ll appear high-maintenance, or as if you’re stalking the company. If you never get a clear response to your request to be reconsidered, your best move is to show up, dressed appropriately, at the on-campus interview location. Arrive about 30 minutes before the first interview, and

Get hired

Turn a ‘No’ into a ‘Maybe’

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on-campus interview, does that close the book on your chances of getting an internship with that employer? Absolutely not! Remember, the recruiting process, whether for internships or full-time jobs, is about picking a few people to interview from a large pool of applicants. Employers recognize that their process for screening prospects isn’t perfect. More often than not, they’re willing to take a second look at a candidate who wants to be reconsidered.

ask to speak with one of the employer’s representatives. Have your resume in a portfolio, ready to hand over. You might get penciled into an open interview slot. But be aware that your moment to shine may amount to no more than a couple of minutes with an interviewer in the hallway. At this point you just want to be heard, so make the most out of whatever time you get. If the employer can’t speak with you anytime that day, ask if you can contact the representative about a phone screening/interview. See the “Scripts to Go from ‘No’ to ‘Maybe’” worksheet below for some suggestions on what to say. As much as you might like one, the employer doesn’t owe you a detailed explanation about the decision to reject your application. Once your oncampus appeal has been denied, your next-best option is to find an off-campus side window to slip through. For example, if you’ve been rejected twice by the employer’s main office, find a contact in a regional office who might need your help for the summer. Again, going this far with a potential employer is only worth it if that organization is one of your top choices.

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Refusing to Take ‘No’ as the Final Answer

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Getting Your Ideal Internship

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Scripts to Go from ‘No’ to ‘Maybe’ Use this worksheet to help create the messages you’ll use to move your candidacy for an internship from “no” to “maybe.” But don’t use these scripts verbatim; rather, use them to craft better messages that address your specific needs and conditions. As you’re composing, keep the focus on what you can offer the employer, not the reverse. The letter shouldn’t sound like your biography. When you list your talents, tie them to the company’s needs. Your letter should answer the employer’s question, “What can this person do for us?”

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Aim

Restating your case in a letter or an email to… A. Someone you haven’t previously met or communicated with

B. Someone you have previously met or communicated with

Dear Mr./Ms. [insert employer contact’s last name]:

Dear [insert contact’s name—either a formal greeting as above, or use a first name; choose appropriately]:

As a [name of major/program] student at [name of school], I have been watching [employer’s name] with great interest. [Add something complimentary about the company that shows you know its current work; this should also be something that you can easily tie into your skills.] I have the _____, _____, and _____ skills [skills required for the position] that are needed to support this effort. When I became aware of the [name of department/ group/project] internship position, it struck me as being a near-exact match for my abilities. So you can imagine my disappointment when I learned that I wasn’t selected for an interview. Would you reconsider my application? My schedule is very flexible, so I’m available anytime to talk about what I could bring to [employer’s name] in an internship capacity.

When we last spoke at/during [the event or occasion during which you last spoke with this person], I was very grateful for your insight and guidance about _____ and _____. After our conversation, I felt encouraged about applying to [employer’s name]. So you can imagine my disappointment when I learned that I wasn’t selected for an interview. While in school, I have focused on building skills in _____, _____, and _____ [skills required for the position]—seemingly a good match for a [name of department/group/project] internship position with [employer’s name]. Our conversation helped confirm that for me.

My resume is attached/enclosed.

I wonder if there’s any way to have my application reconsidered. Of course, I would happily make myself available, at your convenience, to talk about my background and desire to work as a [name of position] this coming summer.

I will remain in touch and look forward to hearing from you.

My resume is attached/enclosed. I’m confident that you won’t be disappointed.

Sincerely, [your name]

I will remain in touch and look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, [your name]

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Directing a request for a phone screening later (if no time is available the day of the interviews) to…

A. Someone in the career office

B. Someone with the employer, though not one of the interviewers

B. A recruiter or other decision maker “If you don’t have any time to talk today, when would be a good time to reach you to talk over the phone? Though I wasn’t selected initially, I’d like a chance to be considered for the role because I feel strongly that there’s a good fit between [employer’s name]’s [name of position] position and my skills and career goals. When would be a better time to talk more about this?”

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“Good morning. Who would you recommend I speak with about being considered for the [name of position] position? I don’t believe my resume adequately highlighted my skills and experience when I first applied for an interview. Who could I get a moment with to restate what I see as a good match between [employer’s name]’s needs and my abilities? I’d be grateful for any time at all.”

“I would really like to speak with one of the interviewers at a later time since their schedule is full today. How could I best get in touch with them to arrange a conversation? And may I leave a note and a copy of my resume for you to hand over to them later?” [Write a note for the interviewer, and leave both the note and the resume with the employer representative to hand to the interviewer later.]

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A. Someone with the employer, though not one of the interviewers

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“Hi. I’d like to speak with [employer’s name] about the [name of position] position that they’re interviewing for today. Although I wasn’t selected for an interview, they’re one of my top choices. I believe the resume I submitted didn’t adequately describe my skills and experience. Is there any way I can get just a moment with the interviewer who’s here today? I wrote to him [or her] but didn’t get a reply. Can I speak with the interviewer very briefly before the interviews start? I’d be grateful for any time at all.”

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On the day of on-campus interviews, getting time with the interviewer by talking to…

C. A recruiter or other decision maker

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“Hello. I really appreciate your taking a moment with me. While I wasn’t initially selected for an interview for the [name of position] position today, I believe there’s a good fit between [employer’s name]’s needs and my abilities. If now isn’t convenient, do you have time to talk with me later today?”

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internships get ready Aim Get hired stay Hired

The Employers’ Perspective— Ability, Possibility, and Fit As an organization screens candidates during

career fairs and interviews, it’s looking at three things: ability, possibility, and fit: • Ability is what you’ve accomplished in the past. It’s what you can offer an employer right away based on your aptitude or the skills you’ve gained. Your resume is the clearest way to show this, as it probably lists your GPA, relevant activities, and interests, in addition to your employment highlights. •

•

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Possibility is what you might become for the employer—your potential. Your resume and your conversation can both show the possibility you offer. Past projects point to future capability and contribution, so talk them up—but link them to your aspirations for the future. This is also the time to emphasize your motivation to do great things for the company. (Remember that it’s not about what the company can do for you.) Fit is suitability, a knack for adapting to and internalizing the company culture. Can you work within its system? Your poise, presence, and interaction with company representatives will be key indicators here. A lot of “fit” is attitude. Mirror the attitudes of those you hope to impress (but do it sincerely) to induce them to see you as the best candidate. W E T F E E T I N SIDER GUIDE

A few more words about ability: Employers expect a student’s work experience to be relatively light, but they can judge your ambition and dedication from your grades. Your major is also important, but there’s some flexibility. Some internship postings list a minimum GPA and specific majors as requirements. This makes sense: If the job is in sales and marketing, a business, marketing, or communications major would be most appropriate. A software company would be expected to request a computer science, management information systems (MIS), or math major. However, if you really want a particular internship and your major isn’t a match, don’t be deterred. Apply anyway and make a good case about your general suitability, touching on relevant experience if you have any. According to NACE, in 2007 the majors most in demand for full-time employment of new college graduates are: • Accounting •

Business administration/management

•

Computer science

•

Electrical engineering

•

Mechanical engineering

•

Information sciences and systems

•

Marketing/marketing management

•

Computing engineering

•

Civil engineering

•

Economics/finance

As employers review applications, they look first for experience that closely matches that of the position they’re trying to fill. If they’re recruiting for a Web producer and you’ve produced websites for local companies or nonprofits, you’re a match in that

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Do you have potential?

Identify Your Transferable Skills

•

Do you share our values?

The next-best thing to having job-specific skills is having transferable skills. Every company needs someone to interact with clients. Companies use different names for this valuable work—among them, account management, client relations, or customer care. Every company needs to publicize its service or product—think advertising, marketing, PR, and sales. Every company needs someone to answer the phone and receive walk-in traffic, presenting a face to the outside world. Customer service, sales/marketing, and communication are transferable skills vital to every organization. Highlight your function-specific skills, such as quantitative analysis, research, and programming, but bolster those with transferable skills. The following table gives a few examples:

By expounding on your experience and aspirations, you’ve covered the first two. Demonstrating that you can fit into the corporate culture is more difficult. Hiring managers often use their intuition to determine if a candidate is a good fit. The best way to show them that you can be part of their team is to demonstrate genuine interest in the position and the organization. Do your research, practice your answers, and have good questions prepared. This will build a memorable level of rapport, and will convince the organization that you’re a good investment.

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Selling Your Transferable Skills Internship abilities

• Interact with customers and handle questions and concerns

• Communicate well and have the ability to address individual needs

• Balance cash register daily

• Verify work; detail-oriented and accountable

• Understand retail product lines • Knowledgeable about sales and return policies

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Cashier position abilities

Get hired

•

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Ability, possibility, and fit—these critical criteria are sometimes stated as three questions: • Can you do the work?

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respect. Links to your work demonstrate that you have skills they need. But what if you don’t have job-specific skills required for the internship? Maybe that’s why you want the internship in the first place. What can you do?

• See the bigger picture • Grasp inner workings and details

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Stay Hired:

5

Turn Your Internship Into a Job Make the Most of . Your Internship.............................. 54 Start Working Before . You Start Working.......................... 54 Maximize Your Internship ROI...... 56

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Make the Most of Your Internship

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Get hired

Aim

Once you’ve secured your internship or summer

project, it’s time to show that you’d be a good candidate for a full-time position. You’ll be able to showcase your talents, gain new skills, and learn more about the work in a target company and/or industry. There may be specific skills that employers hope you’ll gain during the internship. Most are looking for you to exhibit some of the basic behaviors they seek in permanent employees. “Intern supervisors check in with me frequently during the summer as to who’s standing out,” says a motion picture company executive. “If a supervisor mentions an intern is reliable, honest, driven, humble, enthusiastic, and intelligent— to name a few—that’s a huge plus for me. When I remember an intern and have heard numerous positive comments like that, that’s someone I keep my eye on.”

INSIDER SCOOP “The reporting manager overseeing an intern treats them like a regular employee. We’re looking to see how much direction they need, their initiative, and the quality of their work. We check on their progress throughout the summer. Our goal is to be able to make a hiring decision before they depart.” There are also don’ts to keep in mind. Below are some of the ways employers say past interns have derailed their chances of being offered a full-time position: • Not being punctual •

Having anything other than a positive attitude

•

Presenting a sloppy appearance

•

Making inappropriate comments

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•

Being too proud to do the grunt work

•

Getting too caught up in the social atmosphere around them

•

Coming in with a chip on their shoulder and an entitlement attitude

Start Working Before You Start Working Chances are you did a good deal of research to

navigate your interviews and earn your internship. You learned about the employer and the industry. You may even have spoken to some former interns and employees. If so, terrific! Build on this by continuing to learn about your employer, the industry, and the work you might be doing—before your summer job begins. Since each industry has a language all its own, familiarize yourself with the lingo. If you’ve traveled abroad, you’ve probably seen interactions between tourists and locals; the usual response to a tourist’s attempt to speak the local language is positive and encouraging. Likewise, you want your internship employer to appreciate your use of the organization’s lingo. The employer will see it as an encouraging sign of your interest in the organization. For career changers moving into unfamiliar functions—for instance, from operations to general management, or from the military to a private corporation—there’s also a need to develop communication skills related to the new career function. Some places are better than others for learning the company and industry lingo. Target the resources

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listed below to familiarize yourself with it: • Employer websites, publications, and white papers Competitor websites, publications, and white papers

•

Industry-related websites, associations, journals, and newsletters

•

Functionally related websites, associations, journals, and newsletters

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> TIP If possible, before you begin your internship, speak with the professionals whose team you’ll be joining. Ask about their careers and professional interests, ongoing projects, and challenges. Ask them for insight and advice. This will give you a start on building a rapport with team members.

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For example, if you think you want to be a process engineer in the textile manufacturing arena and you want to work for Burlington Industries, you should also read the website of Milliken & Company, one of Burlington’s biggest competitors; the website of the American Society for Quality, which sets manufacturing and process engineering standards; the website of the American Textile Manufacturers Institute; and the website of the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering. You might even find out if there’s work you can do in preparation for your internship. These steps should certainly expose you to an employer’s language, people, and projects. They can also show your workmates and supervisors that you’re interested, diligent, and enthusiastic about them, their work, and the company. If your employer doesn’t have many events planned for interns to interact with each other, take the initiative and suggest a few after-work get-togethers. Being in a program makes it easy to network, so take advantage of it! Discuss projects and goals, career aspirations, former internship gigs, schools, classes, and further network connections. Find out who knows whom. Another intern might have an in at a company you want to work for. Interns from the previous year also might prove to be great resources—they may be able to supply insight and information that can help you get off to a better start and avoid pitfalls.

Get ready

•

While an internship often has a high degree of process and structure, there is some flexibility that you’ll want to take advantage of as far in advance as possible. In a marketing internship, for instance, you may be able to influence whether you spend your summer gaining exposure to couponing, pricing strategies, and tactics for an existing offering, or researching, planning, and structuring new offerings. Either could be valuable, but one may be closer to what you want to do after you graduate. If so, discuss it with the appropriate people before you start, to ensure you gather the experience and exposure you want.

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[ CHECKLIST] get ready

The Work Before Work Begins

Use this checklist to help you complete some important tasks prior to starting your internship or summer project. o Learn about the language of the employer, the industry, and your functional area. o Make contact with current employees.

Aim

o Locate and speak with other interns who will work for your employer. o Speak with people who worked with your employer during the previous year.

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Get hired

o Discuss project ideas with your internship supervisor and colleagues.

Maximize Your Internship ROI You’ve worked hard to get to this stage. You

want to make sure to maximize the return on your investment. Below are some suggestions for receiving the greatest value from your internship experience. (MBAs may find even more tips in the section “Internship Timeline for MBAs” in the next chapter.)

In the Beginning… Learn your way around the organization and familiarize yourself with day-to-day operations. Learn the organizational and departmental structure. Read company literature, including emails and employee newsletters. Introduce yourself to supervisors, coworkers, and peers. This will send the message that you’re a team member. Understand the systems for communication, including the technology. If you’re unfamiliar with the organization’s computer programs or other tools and methods, take the time to study or ask questions so 56

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your integration with office operations is smooth. Also, learn office protocol for communication. How are meetings conducted? How else is information shared?

π Record Your Progress Remember your goals, and keep a record of your activities and accomplishments throughout your internship. This will help you stay on track and evaluate your experience along the way and afterward. In particular, document any problems you solved or obstacles you overcame—anything that demonstrates your resourcefulness, creativity, intuition, or cleverness. It only takes a moment to type a line or two daily. Then you can easily review your progress each

week or month. This can be particular helpful on days when you feel like you haven’t accomplished quite enough. More important, your work diary will be the raw material from which you’ll present a report come review time. Check in with your supervisor to get a sense of how you’ll be evaluated. Finally, if your school requires you to write a summary of your internship, these notes will help you recall what you learned from the experience.

Establishing Rapport/ Integrating A current internship supervisor with a large consulting firm makes the following crucial points for interns to integrate smoothly into their new team: “Understand how your skills and background can support the team. Put yourself in a contributing role after looking at what everyone else is doing on the projects. Stay flexible on assignments, open to the content. And let them find a way to sell you to clients.” You come to the internship with your own skills and talents. You decide how you want to use them to help the organization. Take the time to speak with your coworkers, supervisors, and peers. Make connections. Manage every interaction you have. As you build relationships

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After the Internship

stay hired Special Section for MBAs

Stay in touch with your internship contacts. Send thank-you notes immediately afterward to the people who influenced your experience. Stay in touch about your career or academic progress. Nurturing this part of your network is a surefire way to know when new job opportunities in the organization arise. You may wish to mentor incoming interns in the program you just finished. This is an opportunity both to give back to and maintain contacts with your former internship employer. In addition, volunteering to mentor others demonstrates leadership and commitment.

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As your internship progresses, broaden your exposure to as many aspects of the department and organization as you can. Take risks. Remember that self-management is important: Stay on top of your projects and show enthusiasm for your work. The best way to position yourself for future opportunities is to think about what you would do if you returned to the company. Then begin discussing your goals and researching the hiring process.

At the end of the internship, you have an opportunity to reflect on your experiences and provide feedback to your employer so that the internship program and future interns may benefit. If you have an exit interview, be open and honest about your experience. Focus on the positives. Make constructive suggestions. Don’t burn bridges! Listen carefully and with an open mind when you are evaluated. Prepare to hear about your strengths as well as areas in which you might improve. This feedback will help you identify where you can enhance your skills. You’ll be able to emphasize your growth in these areas as a selling point the next time around. References and the contacts you’ve established may be important in helping you land the next work opportunity.

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Going Above and Beyond

Evaluations, Performance Reviews, and Closure Get ready

with clients and coworkers, remember that each interaction is a two-way assessment. You are demonstrating your professionalism and abilities in an ongoing evaluation. At the same time, this is your chance to see how you like the organization. As one supervisor puts it, your internship gives you the opportunity to find out “if the firm truly lives its values.” Every company highlights certain ideals, including a balanced lifestyle, encouraging employee input, or being innovative or cutting-edge. Are the qualities that attracted you to this employer really there? How do you function in the work environment? Does it complement your work style and goals?

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6

Improving Your Career Options.... 60 Internship vs Summer Project....... 62

Internship Timeline for MBAs...... 63 Options Beyond Internships......... 69

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Getting Your Ideal Internship

Improving Your Career Options probably view getting an MBA as a major investment in your future career. If so, consider this: Experience leads to credibility and credibility leads to offers. This should be your mantra as you seek or create your ideal internship. You’ll use the exposure and skills you’ve gained from that internship to transform your work into a desired career. According to surveys conducted by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), the group that administers the GMAT, more than half of MBA students are looking to improve their career options. For many people, this means a career shift. Hiring managers know this. Although employers expect to find MBAs who went straight from college to B-school, they’re not surprised to encounter a banker changing to corporate finance or an educator shifting to management consulting. Employers value transferable skills developed in a previous career, as well as the analytic, management, and strategic skills candidates develop in business school. The question you need to consider is, “How big is the gap between where I’ve been and where I want to be?” The banker moving to corporate finance already has the quantitative chops companies seek and may not need an internship at all. The teacher is shifting

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Aim

If you’re an MBA student or graduate, you

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not only roles but industries, and consequently may have more need of an internship. He’ll have to lean more on his portable skills, such as planning (lesson plans) and individual and group management. According to GMAC, employers are satisfied with MBAs’ analytical, leadership, and oral communication abilities, but would like to see improvement in interpersonal dynamics, decision-making, and written communication. In general, employers have high expectations for MBAs. Employers will use career-changing MBAs to their advantage by incorporating their alternative perspectives and renewed vigor into their organizations.

Why Consider an MBA? If you have a liberal arts degree and no business experience, receiving an MBA can dramatically increase the odds of receiving an offer for a highly competitive business analyst internship. In fact, attending B-school can help you make distinct changes in your career. The following table compares the jobs held by 15 people prior to starting an MBA program with the summer internships they received while in that program. The degree to which people are able to change the direction of their careers even after just one year supports the value of an MBA. MBA candidates, like other internship seekers, must demonstrate focus, clarity, and passion to catch an employer’s attention. You can accomplish that through involvement in student groups, course projects, academic practicums, independent studies, and not-for-credit research projects.

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Examples of MBA Career Changers Get ready

Former

Summer/Intern Function

Title

Industry

Administration

Fifth-grade teacher

Education

Finance

Summer associate

Investment banking

Operations

System-planning engineer

Utilities

Finance

Investment intern

Retirement assistant

Marketing

Senior sales rep

Oil and gas

Finance

Finance and operations consultant

Pharmaceuticals

Administration

Assistant vice president

Private investments

Information management

MBA intern

Gaming software

Operations

Performance engineer

Aircraft

Information management

Supply chain IT intern

Grocery retail

Management

Owner/director and producer

Entertainment

Management

Business development intern

Medical devices

Operations

Project engineer

Construction

Management

Business analyst

Oil field services

Administration

Equal employment adviser

Legal

Marketing

Marketing intern

Pharmaceuticals

Management

Online media director

Advertising

Marketing

E-business associate

Financial services

Management

Director, marketing and membership

Nonprofit

Marketing

Category management intern

Consumer packaged goods

Management

Transportation engineer

Design & construction

Operations

Internal consultant

Computers

Management

HR manager

Appliances

Operations

Business operations analyst

Health care

Management

Technical secretary in government commission

Government transportation

Operations

Supply chain analyst

Medical devices

Source: McCombs School of Business (University of Texas at Austin)

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Industry

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Title

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Function

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Getting Your Ideal Internship

Internship vs Summer Project

departments and facilities. In addition to a pay rate equivalent to a new MBA’s salary, MBA interns may also receive a travel allowance and housing assistance for the summer. Formal internship programs adhere to a strict schedule of application, interview, follow-up, and acceptance deadlines, and are managed by a specific person or group.

Aim

Let’s divide MBA employers into two camps:

those with formal internship programs and those without. In the end, it all looks the same on your resume. But at the start, your tactics and message depend on whether the employer has an established MBA internship program.

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Get hired

Internships Typically, internships are structured programs managed from an employer’s headquarters or one of its divisions or regional offices. It’s more often the Fortune 500, or the larger nonprofit groups, institutions, governmental bodies, private foundations, and associations that have internship programs. Some exceptions include smaller organizations that are within an easy commute of B-school. As we’ve said earlier, formal internship programs are a strategic exercise by the employer to find and retain new talent. MBAs typically receive higher levels of compensation than interns of other graduate programs because the perception is that they’ll more directly help generate revenue and profits. Depending on the student’s academic calendar, placements normally span 8 to 12 weeks from midMay to early September. Interns are usually hired into a specific group or division and don’t know the nature of their first project until a few weeks before the internship begins—although in extreme cases, a few weeks after. During the course of their work, interns may have the opportunity to participate in social gatherings with other interns, management, and previous interns who are now full-time employees. These are important networking opportunities. Some employers may also arrange educational lectures and panels, lunches with executives, and tours of various 62

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Interns usually take on part of an employer’s ongoing work. These assignments have major deliverables and milestones, so managers can review someone’s performance at least once during the summer. Many internships culminate with a presentation to key group or division members—it’s not uncommon for senior corporate executives to attend.

Summer Projects Employers who come to campus looking for MBA interns generally have some type of internship program in place. If you’re dealing with employers who don’t recruit on campus, you’ll first need to determine if they’re in the habit of hiring MBAs for the summer (don’t use the term internship with them yet). If they’re not, don’t try to educate them on what an internship is. The first impression you make on a prospective employer should show how you’re going to help reduce her workload. You shouldn’t intimidate her with terms like MBA and internship that may translate to expense and extra support. Use the term summer project, which sounds familiar and manageable. In the end, you may come

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work and school, you’d be surprised at how quickly even significant events become a blur. A log will help you when you prepare for interviews. A letter of recommendation detailing your positive impact is essential, whether you’re getting paid or not.

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Internship Timeline for MBAs

Get hired

Once you get to know your supervisor, you’ll be able to figure out how much guidance to provide for the recommendation. Some bosses are used to writing such letters and can knock them out easily. Others may appreciate an outline or list of the areas where you think you added value. (If you worked for different departments, some bosses may not be aware of everything you worked on; if you suspect this is the case, a list is a good idea.)

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A letter of recommendation detailing your positive impact is an essential part of your summer project, whether you’re getting paid or not.

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Establish Rapport (Weeks 1 and 2) The first couple of weeks are the time to establish a solid rapport between you and your new colleagues. The three areas you should pay the closest attention to during this period are: people, methods and tools, and meetings. WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

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up with a structure that mirrors a formal internship. Or your summer project may remain loosely defined and informal. That’s fine as long as both you and the employer are comfortable with the model. The onus will be on you to track the skills you’re developing and the exposure you’re receiving. Be assertive (but diplomatic and respectful) in requesting a wider range of duties or interactions. Summer projects have a higher tendency to come with low or no pay. Although the employer realizes some benefits from your work, he may not have the budget to pay you, which is probably why no formal internship exists in the first place. The counterbalance to low (or no) pay is the control you have over your experience. You’re more likely to be able to tailor a summer project to your specific needs than you are in a conventional internship. One tip: If you’ve already decided that you’re willing to work for nothing (or peanuts), consider nonprofits in your internship search. They’re likely dying for some MBA expertise—and not just in fundraising. There are plenty of applications for business skills in nonprofits. MBAs have the training to see connections and create alliances, analyze trends, look at inefficient processes and seek improvements, and evaluate services/products and communicate their value. Nonprofits need help in such areas as grant writing, accounting, and PR, and can provide valuable work experience. In addition, because many nonprofits are chronically short-staffed, you’ll probably have more variety in your duties than you might at a for-profit company. If you join an organization that works with issues close to your heart, you’ll be simultaneously getting your internship and working on a personally meaningful project. Because of the informal nature of a summer project, it’s even more important that your contributions be documented both by you in a work diary and by your employer in a letter of recommendation. Monitor who you meet and what you learn on a daily or weekly basis, including problems you solved and project portions completed. You may think you’ll remember everything, but with new experiences coming at you fast and furious in

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Methods and Tools

Your colleagues will play a significant role in your success during the summer and beyond. That said, here are some specific areas to pay close attention to during your first two weeks on the job: • Learn about the organizational structure of the team, group, department, and division in which you’re working, including the positions of any group members who are in a different location. This will help you determine the key stakeholders in the organization.

Learn the core methods and tools your group uses, and the terms applied to those processes. The quicker you master them, the sooner you’ll be an effective group member. • Ensure that you have the right work resources. You should have a work station and be added to the employer’s email, voicemail, and interoffice mail networks as quickly as possible. Usually, this is arranged prior to your arrival, but don’t be surprised if that isn’t the case. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need—discussing this in advance can ensure that precious time in your first week isn’t spent looking for a cubicle or getting an internal mail routing number.

•

Be aware of who depends on your group for information or deliverables and on whom you’re dependent. You’re a link in a process; if you cultivate good relations, things will go smoothly.

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Learn the strengths of group members so you can target questions to the right person and receive information quickly and easily.

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Learn which group or department members have made career moves similar to your own, and ask them to share their stories. You never know what insight might just be a friendly question away. Also ask for general advice.

•

Administrative staffers—receptionists, mail handlers, assistants and secretaries, runners, office managers, and personnel in the HR, training and development, technology support, and internal finance and accounting offices—each influence the process and may have been in their roles longer than the executives. Treat them with respect. They can have a huge impact on your ability to navigate the company’s systems and policies, gain access to resources, and get things done.

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Aim

People

Get hired

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Getting Your Ideal Internship

•

Find out what the preferred work methods are in your group. Do your colleagues use a specific type of software, planning tool, protocol, or group dynamic process? Your goal is to get up to speed on them quickly.

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Find out where past work is stored and how to access it. You’ll likely have some downtime during your first week. Use that time to study the types of deliverables the group has recently produced.

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Take note of which communication/collaboration tools the group favors. Does it use meeting management software like Outlook? A real-time instant messaging tool like Yahoo Messenger? Is there anyone on the road who uses only a cell phone to check email? Better not attach that megadocument till you’re sure.

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Meetings

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Likewise, you should be thinking about who in the company you want to meet with about your summer work and career goals (more on this type of meeting is covered in the “Build Bridges” section).

Make Connections (Weeks 3 and 4)

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List people in your group and other groups with whom you’d like to meet (see the checklist “Get in Touch with the Following People”). Contact people at your level or higher to discuss their roles and the challenges they face. Learn more WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

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If your ideas and comments are received well outside meetings, mention them during meetings. If no one at your level speaks out during meetings, ask your supervisor to raise your idea. Let her be the judge of whether it’s worth mentioning.

Special Section for MBAs

•

stay hired

By this time, you should know enough to begin feeling comfortable. You’re making good progress in your projects. Terms and tools should feel more familiar and you should be connecting with colleagues inside and outside your group. Also by this time, you should have identified the folks who can help you so you can use their knowledge and share your findings with them. During this two-week period, keep these points in mind: • Establish at least two mentors—a senior and a peer. You want to get along well with them and feel comfortable sharing information. But you also want to use these contacts to deepen your knowledge of the company. Your peer can help you understand your daily responsibilities while your more senior mentor can teach you about the company’s culture. Ideally, these mentors each have strong internal and external networks. Establish a routine time to meet with them before, during, or after work.

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During your ongoing work, set up meetings with stakeholders and team members to keep the project moving forward in a timely manner.

If your employer does not arrange meetings among summer MBAs, then take the initiative and arrange them.

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•

•

Get ready

Newcomers often make their first major mistakes during a meeting. Unfairly or not, such errors can hurt your reputation. That’s why it’s important to talk about meeting protocol. Meetings come in many flavors: daily team meetings, group program reports, project reviews, departmental planning meetings, issue resolution sessions, performance reviews, brainstorming sessions, status updates, and more. Following are a few things to keep in mind. It’s natural for a type-A MBA personality to use a meeting to express her ideas, questions, concerns, proposals, criticisms, and objections. But meetings have unwritten rules. If you speak out during your first or second meeting, you may be perceived to be speaking out of turn. You also might find yourself uninvited to future meetings. Minimize the risk of being seen as impertinent by asking a trustworthy group member or your supervisor how much you’re supposed to participate (then err on the side of conservatism). And, either in advance or after the meeting, discreetly mention whatever you would have said during the meeting. If you consistently get a green light, don’t be bashful. And if you’re ever asked to contribute an opinion, by all means speak up! Be careful to observe meeting etiquette. For instance, if three group members are talking at once during a teleconference, avoid speaking since it will only add to the noise in the room. Carefully observe successful meetings and mimic participants’ behavior. At some point during your summer work, you’re probably going to arrange meetings of your own. Discuss them with your supervisor and group members in advance to get their input and ideas. Here are some guidelines: • Arrange a meeting or two during the first two weeks of work to define clearly in writing your project schedule and the review, report, and/or presentation periods at the end of your project(s).

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Getting Your Ideal Internship

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about the company to make a more informed decision about whether you want a full-time job there—and, if so, in which group. You might also uncover a great project idea to work on during the summer or later on, once you return to your MBA program (more on this in “Back at BSchool”).

•

If you’re not doing the work you were expecting to do, let your supervisor know and make suggestions accordingly. It might be that the plans the two of you discussed during your first two weeks are slow in coming to fruition. Or maybe the group’s business needs changed, and your expertise is needed for some other vital project. In either case, be diplomatic and ask how you might be able to do some of the work you initially requested. If you find a more interesting project than the one you’re involved in, avoid asking to change the focus of your work, which would seem wishywashy. Instead, establish a plan for completing your current work before moving to the new, more interesting project. Or explain why working on this new project will be more valuable to the company. Whatever you do, don’t indicate that you’re bored with your present assignment.

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Aim

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[ CHECKLIST]

Get in Touch with the Following People

During your summer internship, reach out to these people, who can offer the most help with your career : o Other MBA interns working for the summer at the same company. o Former MBA interns who are now full-time employees. o If this is a career change for you, current employees who made similar changes. o People, at your level or below, in groups that are doing work you might be interested in doing. o Staff members who are experts at using the tools or technology you’ll be using.

Build Bridges (Weeks 5 through 8) By weeks five through eight, you should be running at full steam—driving things forward with regular status meetings, preliminary drafts, and intermediate releases of your findings in order to gauge how your project should evolve before you wrap it up. Now let’s talk about the more subtle aspects of these middle weeks—the relationships you’ve developed and how to use them to build bridges for your career. • Make sure the midsummer review you arranged during your first week actually takes place. Focus on your performance and impact as well as ways you can improve. This accomplishes a number of goals: letting your employer know that your performance and your contribution to the organization are important to you; learning how to improve your work style and fit within the group and employer; and confirming the final review and presentation meetings at the end of your stint.

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•

•

If you’re not interested in a full-time position, it’s still a good idea to ask the questions—this information might help your MBA schoolmates, which could translate to effective networking.

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Make sure you know who manages the application process for full-time positions. Speak with that person about the recruiting schedule and any potential visits scheduled with your B-school in the upcoming academic year. Find out what you can do to stay in touch with her during that time.

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You’ve probably discovered or thought of a number of projects over the summer. Now’s the time to turn the discussion up a notch with the companies where you believe you could create or find your WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

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Diplomatically share your thoughts with everyone about the perfect job you’d like to have with your summer employer and/or in the industry. If the role doesn’t exist, find out which key stakeholders can authorize creating the role and begin talking to them about it. Let your supervisor know about these conversations, because you’ll need his support. Amazing opportunities can come your way if you’re vocal about what you want.

•

Special Section for MBAs

If you’re interested in full-time opportunities with your summer employer, ask your supervisor, the recruiting and HR team, and other appropriate contacts about their outlook on full-time positions. Find out what you can do to ensure that you’re a strong candidate for any full-time positions in a particular group.

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•

Get hired

Reach out to people whom your mentors, group members, contacts, and supervisors have told you about. Try to arrange information-gathering calls to learn about their organizations and their industry perspectives. Find out about projects they’re working on and even the ones they’ve put on hold—this information could become valuable later on (more on leveraging this project information is covered in the “Options Beyond Internships” section).

In the last couple of weeks, you’ll face a blizzard of final meetings and last-minute changes as you wrap up your project deliverables. This is the time to maintain a clear focus on your objectives. As a project nears its end, people often try to sneak in pieces of information to add sections, conduct additional analysis, or even alter the original theme. This is called scope creep—the boundaries of the work slowly creep outward to include more products, solutions, or features until you have a vastly larger or different project. If this happens early on, there’s often time to rejigger the project or start anew. This isn’t possible at the eleventh hour. If necessary, add a brief addendum to the project detailing the case for an additional piece of work at a later date. Perhaps it could be something you tackle following your return to B-school (more on this in “Back at B-School”). Whatever you do, don’t be apologetic for the parts your group didn’t complete. Rather than whine, “We didn’t have time to do this,” confidently announce that you made a decision to rein in scope so that the parts you did finish were completed with quality and on schedule. Here are more tips to help you stay focused: • About two weeks before your last day, begin asking your supervisor and other people who make hiring decisions how, following graduation, you might step into the perfect job you’ve been talking about.

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•

Create Opportunities (Week 9 to the End) Get ready

Use breakfasts and lunches with your newly found mentors and contacts to network and expand your knowledge. Continue to find out how the work you and your group are doing affects other parts of the organization. Keep your eyes open for new project ideas, and share them among your contacts. After all, you can’t do all the work yourself. And your contacts may appreciate good ideas they can take back to their groups.

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dream job. Discuss how, after your return to B-school, you could do some of the work you’ve suggested. Based on those discussions, create a project that’s as close to your dream job as possible (more on using this project information in the “Options Beyond Internships” section).

With the end of your internship or summer project in sight, develop a short list of tasks that will help ensure that all of your hard work ends with a bang. • Make sure your final performance review takes place. Review your discussions about your dream job with others at the company. Ask your supervisor to share your performance review (it’s stellar, right?) with the decision makers—those who may be able to hire you into your dream job. •

If you have a final presentation, find out if you can invite key contacts you’ve made at the company—those who’ve aided you in your work and might be future supervisors or sponsors if you return for a full-time position. If you can’t invite them, ask if you can conduct a separate presentation for them, or at least send them a quick synopsis that your supervisor reviews.

•

Leave personalized thank-you notes, emails and/or voicemail messages for the people who helped you during the summer, including troubleshooting tech support folks, administrative assistants and senior executives. Let them know you appreciated their hospitality and help.

•

If you’re in the enviable position of receiving an informal or formally written offer for fulltime employment before your summer work is done, then you’ve truly made a great impression. Congratulations! Employers will most often provide you with a number of weeks or months to consider the offer. The best-case scenario involves you and your employer discussing the job in the

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Get hired

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Seal the Deal (Final Week)

weeks before your departure, which would let you tailor the job to your preferences. Who could ask for more?

Back at B-School Surrounded by the hustle and bustle of your MBA program, you may feel tempted to relax into the defined structure of your coursework. Keep a portion of your calendar clear to: • Stay in touch with key contacts at your summer job and at other companies you were involved with. •

Follow up with your fellow interns and check on their plans.

•

Maintain the conversations you started about your ideal job.

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Start work on one of the projects you uncovered or put together during the summer. The project should allow you to move closer to your ideal job. You can even receive credit for it if you have a faculty member and adviser sign off on it as an academic practicum or independent study (see the “Options Beyond Internships” section). If the project requires the effort of four to five MBAs, then a practicum is your best option. If so, you should engage an appropriate faculty member as soon as possible—even while you’re in the midst of your summer work. Meanwhile, you can also contact some colleagues from your MBA program to participate in the project.

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What can you do besides internships and summer

Class Projects

Independent Study

Self-Directed Projects If you want full control over a project that can enhance your career prospects, a self-directed project may be the way to go. This type of project neither depends on an existing course nor relies on the approval of a faculty member or academic adviser. Rather, it’s a project you design and implement on your own. It should involve some rigorous research and insightful analysis—something meatier than just a flimsy ruse for networking. WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE 69

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When you have a robust, in-depth project you want to pursue outside of an existing course, independent study is usually the best option. This allows you to complete your customized project for academic credit. You’ll need signed approval from a faculty member— which means preparing well in advance. About two

Be sure to establish a comprehensive work plan (like a syllabus) for an independent study. Doing so will help you stay on track and manage the time and effort required to maximize the benefits of the project.

Special Section for MBAs

A practicum is created by a faculty member in concert with an employer. It requires a group of three to six MBAs to take on a project with a predetermined goal. Although much has been firmly established, a student may be able to create his own academic practicum, one that’s more tailored to his needs. In this case, make sure a faculty member is willing to sign off on the project’s academic merit so that you get course credit.

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Academic Practicums

Get hired

Almost all B-school classes include a project of some kind. Typically, the project’s subject matter is clearly dictated by the course’s syllabus and offers students little chance for customizing it to their career needs. Occasionally, a course will let students create their own projects. You should take full advantage of this flexibility to create a project that allows you to study, research, and investigate the industry, companies, and roles in which you have the greatest interest.

Independent study is a flexible tool you can use to hone your skills and bridge the gap between your past and future careers. You can structure it to give you deep exposure to a specific industry, company, product, service, technology, or process; and design it to help you build skills, develop a network, or generate ideas and leads.

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projects to make a career change? There are numerous ways MBA job seekers can gain marketable skills outside of formal summer internships and customized projects. You can include them in your resume, cover letters, and portfolio and make them part of your conversations to jump-start your new career.

months before the beginning of the academic period in which you’re seeking credit, begin more formal preparation and request feedback from at least one faculty member and career adviser. The latter will help you clarify how the work may impact your career.

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Options Beyond Internships

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Designing this as a real project with a framework, deadlines, and deliverables will help keep you moving forward, since this effort will be competing for your time and energy with the structured courses you’re already taking. Taking steps to formalize it will make the process more meaningful to you and to your future employer. Depending on the type of project, it may be possible to have a faculty member and academic adviser agree to give you academic credit for it. Self-directed projects can be done at any time. They work well during the summer for students who haven’t been able to find an internship or create a summer project. Plus, they provide tangible and marketable experience.

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Get hired

Aim

Getting Your Ideal Internship

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Get hired

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FOR YOUR REFERENCE

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For Your Reference

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Real Intern Profiles....................... 74 Recommended Resources.............. 76 In Closing..................................... 80

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Getting Your Ideal Internship

Real Intern Profiles

What do you dislike?

Intern with a Startup Software Company

Looking back on your career or job search, what do you wish you had done differently?

What do you do in your internship?

I could have been more focused earlier on. My advice is to begin developing the skills now that you’ll need later. 

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Special Section for MBAs

stay Hired

Get hired

Aim

This summer, I am the business development manager for a venture-backed Internet software company. My responsibilities include end-user and corporate relationship/partnership/customer development activities.

What did you do before? I was an entrepreneur prior to returning to graduate school to get my MBA. I founded an Internet marketing company and a venture-backed software company. Also, I previously worked as an associate for a venture capital firm.

How did you get your internship? They found me. The company was looking for a business development intern to work with them during the semester. Specifically, they were looking for someone with startup experience, including a sales, business development, and marketing background.

What are your career aspirations? I want to see one or more venture-backed companies succeed—from seed to harvest. Eventually, I will move back into a venture capital role. 

What kinds of people do well in internships?

The pace of change is sometimes difficult. Targets in this industry tend to shift very quickly, making it hard to focus on a few key goals. 

How can someone get an internship like yours?  Start knocking on the right doors until you get in.

Intern with an International Advertising Agency What do you do in your internship? I’m a summer intern with the account services team at an international advertising agency, working on the account for a Fortune 500 automobile manufacturer.

What did you do before? Attend college—I had not worked before in this type of professional job.

How did you get your internship? Through networking. My father’s friend knew the general manager of the agency. 

What are your career aspirations? At this point, uncertain.

Several important characteristics for success are: be a self-starter; be confident, flexible, and able to deal with ambiguity; and have strong communication skills (both oral and written).

What kinds of people do well in internships?

What do you really like about your internship?

What do you really like about your internship?

I most enjoy quickly and directly seeing the effects of my work. 

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People who communicate well with others, who are willing to learn by doing, and are comfortable taking responsibility for a project with minimal supervision.

The people. The team is very supportive of each other and works well together. Also, the client interaction is great exposure. As an intern I have a great deal of

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client interaction, and they aren’t afraid to allow me to take on real projects.

The toughest thing about the job is the strict emphasis on deadlines. They cannot be pushed back under any circumstances, so extra hours are often required.

Looking back on your career or job search, what do you wish you had done differently? Kept in closer contact with some of the other people I worked with.

Intern with a Consumer Products Company What do you do in your internship?

It was a bit overwhelming at first. This kind of internship could be particularly hard for folks with nontraditional business backgrounds.

Looking back on your career or job search, what do you wish you had done differently? Taken more business classes as an undergraduate, and done more quantitative work so it would be more intuitive to me now.

How can someone get a job like yours? Network. Show an active interest and enthusiasm in the job and the company.

Intern for a Consumer Appliance Manufacturer

What did you do before?

I am an intern in the marketing communications department at a consumer appliance manufacturer.

I was a human resources manager at a gaming media company.

What do you do in your internship?

What did you do before? I worked in an advertising agency as an account planner and supervisor for five years before going back to B-school for an MBA.

What are your career aspirations?

How did you get your internship?

Brand manager or marketing specialist (not sure which yet).

Through on-campus career services in the MBA program.

What kinds of people do well in internships?

What are your career aspirations?

Assertive people with leadership potential who are collaborative and able to work with teams effectively.

I want to start my own creative hot shop or PR agency about six years down the road.

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Through a pre-MBA summer “brand camp” at this company.

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How did you get your internship?

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I am a marketing/brand management intern at a large, Fortune 500 consumer products company.

Get hired

If you’re interested in the advertising industry, make as many contacts as possible, even if it means cold-calling executives and setting up informational interviews. The industry is all about whom you know. And contacts from the past can be very useful in the future.

What do you dislike?

aim

How can someone get a job like yours?

The opportunity to have a high level of responsibility from the start. I also work with supersmart people. And the work is diverse and interesting, crossing many areas of business. We’re making products that improve people’s lives.

Get ready

What do you dislike?

What do you really like about your internship?

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Getting Your Ideal Internship

Aim

get ready

What kinds of people do well in internships? People who are articulate, creative, have good people skills, and can think—to use the much clichéd term—out of the box.

What do you really like about your internship? That I learn something new every day. I’m surrounded with people who have tons of experience and are willing to share it with me. At the same time, they let me take initiative and try new things. Finally, I love the nature of the job itself, which allows a lot of room for creative expression.

The hours can be very long—especially in advertising. And the pay’s not as sweet as consulting or investment banking. Also, some marketing and advertising internships might be unpaid.

Looking back on your career or job search, what do you wish you had done differently? I probably should not have spent so much time in one industry. I could have come back to school quicker, in, say, three years rather than five.

How can someone get a job like yours? Get an internship with an agency—which will most likely be unpaid, but that’s the best way to get your foot in the door of both the agency and the marketing company, since the agency will give you access to various marketing companies.

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Get hired

What do you dislike?

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Recommended Resources The resources listed here are a small sampling of the information that’s available to help you land an internship.

NACE’s 2007 Job Outlook Survey The National Association of Colleges and Employers’ (NACE) 2007 Job Outlook Survey forecasts the hiring intentions of employers and examines other issues related to the employment of new college graduates. The 2007 Job Outlook Survey was conducted in four parts (Job Outlook Fall Preview, Job Outlook, Job Outlook Winter Update, and Job Outlook Spring Update), from August 2006 through March 2007. Surveys were sent to 1,180 NACE employer members nationwide; 243, or 20.6 percent, responded. By type of employer, 52.7 percent are service-sector employers, 40.3 percent are manufacturers, and 7 percent are government/nonprofit employers. By region, 38.7 percent are from the South, 26.7 percent are from the Midwest, 18.1 percent are from the Northeast, and 16.5 percent are from the West.

NACE’s 2006 Experiential Education Benchmark Survey NACE surveyed its employer members from February 2 through March 15, 2006. Surveys were sent to 1,156 employers nationwide—303, or 26.2 percent, responded. By sector, 48.8 percent were service employers, 42.2 percent were manufacturing employers, and 8.9 percent represented government/nonprofit organizations. By region, 35.6 percent were from the South, 30 percent were from the Midwest, 21.1 percent were from the Northeast, and 13.2 percent were from the West.

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Online Resources WetFeet’s InternshipPrograms.com (www. internshipprograms.com): Find internship postings by location, industry, or keyword.

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JobWeb (www.jobweb.com): Hosted by NACE, this useful website provides resources and statistics on co-ops and internships.

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CollegeGrad.com (www.collegegrad.com): This extensive site has postings for internships and fulltime positions.

2. University of Minnesota • College of Liberal Arts Career Services (careerservices.class.umn.edu/students/ internships.html)

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Internship-USA (www.internship-usa.com): This website lists thousands of internships in the U.S. with hundreds of employers and organizations.

3. The University of Texas at Austin • Career Exploration Center (http://www.utexas.edu/student/careercenter/)

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InternJobs.com (www.internjobs.com): Global database of internships and entry-level positions for students, recent graduates, and career changers.

4. Arizona State University • ASU Career Services (http://www.asu.edu/ studentaffairs/career/Students/InternshipsCoops/ index.htm)

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InternWeb.com (www.internweb.com): Database searchable by internship type, employer type, and/ or state. Great site for internships in Washington, D.C. as well as other metropolitan cities.

5. University of Florida • UF Career Resource Center (www.crc.ufl.edu/Experiential/CoopIntern/ experience.php)

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6. Michigan State University • MSU Career Services Network (http://www.csp.msu.edu/) 7. Texas A&M University • Texas A&M University Career Center (careercenter.tamu.edu/guides/internship/) 8. Pennsylvania State University • Penn State Career Services (www.sa.psu.edu/career/)

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9. University of Wisconsin–Madison • Engineering Career Services and Cooperative Education (ecs.engr.wisc.edu/student/coopintern.cfm) WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

Get hired

Career centers at local universities often provide resources and tips for internships, and much of this information is available to the public through the career center’s website. (Additional services are generally reserved for current students or alumni.) For recommendations on local opportunities, look for a university near the area you’re targeting. Top ten universities in the U.S. and some of their websites related to internships are listed here. This is not a comprehensive list of the internship resources at each school. You may want to see which other large universities have similar programs.

Fisher College of Business Internship Services (fisher.osu.edu/Services/Career-Services/ undergraduate-students/internships/)

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University Career Center Websites

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Get ready

1. Ohio State University • Engineering Career Services (career.eng.ohio-state.edu)

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College of Agricultural & Life Sciences Career Services (www.cals.wisc.edu/students/careerServices/)

10. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign • The Career Center (www.careercenter.uiuc.edu/internship/)

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Rochester Institute of Technology RIT offers one of the most extensive collections of sites for internship and co-op opportunities in biology and biotechnology: (www.rit.edu/~gtfsbi/Symp/summer.htm#categories).

Learn about the companies or organizations you want to target. • BizJournals (www.bizjournals.com): Business news from 41 local markets and 46 industries. •

NewsDirectory.com (www.newsdirectory.com)

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PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com/news/)

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WetFeet’s industry and company profiles (www.wetfeet.com)

Fortune (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/)

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Inc. (www.inc.com)

Professional Associations Search information on associations in every field imaginable using the directory provided by Internet Public Library’s database (www.ipl.org/div/aon/). Some key associations to target are: • American Management Association (www.amanet.org) •

American Marketing Association (www.marketingpower.com)

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Association for Financial Professionals (www.afponline.org)

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Society for Human Resource Management (www.shrm.org)

Specific Opportunities Some of the programs listed here require registration or a fee. Programs have different requirements for participation—a few are open to students only.

Publications with Company Lists

Business and Multiple Areas

Some of the best-known lists about employers can be found through a good local library or through paid subscriptions to the following magazines: • Business 2.0 (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/)

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Rising Star Internships (www.rsinternships. com)

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National Internships (www.internships.com)

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BusinessWeek (www.businessweek.com)

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INROADS (www.inroads.org)

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Forbes (www.forbes.com)

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Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (www.seo-ny.org)

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Get hired

Employer Research

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Internship Programs for Minority Students

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Nonprofit and U.S. Federal Government Opportunities

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Students.gov (http://www.students.gov/ STUGOVWebApp/Public?topicID=78&operatio n=topic)

The International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience (www.iaeste.org)

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International Institute for Cooperation and Development (www.iicd.org)

The Environmental Careers Organization (www.eco.org)

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Internships International (www.rtpnet.org/~intintl/)

Idealist.org: Action Without Borders (www.idealist.org)

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VolunteerMatch (www.volunteermatch.org)

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Washington Internship Institute (www.ielnet.org)

The Back Door Guide to Short-Term Job Adventures Michael Landes (Ten Speed, 2005)

Internships for Dummies

Craig P. Donovan and Jim Garnett (For Dummies, 2001)

•

AIESEC International (www.aiesec.org)

National Directory of Arts Internships

•

Association for International Practical Training (www.aipt.org)

Peterson’s Internships

British Universities North America Club (www.bunac.org)

The Internship Bible

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Center for International Career Development (www.cicdgo.com)

•

Council on International Educational Exchange (www.ciee.org)

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Cross-Cultural Solutions (www.crossculturalsolutions.org)

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EducationUSA (educationusa.state.gov)

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Intern Abroad (www.InternAbroad.com)

The Internship Series from Career Education Institutes (www.internships-usa. com/books.htm)

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

CDS International (www.cdsintl.org)

Princeton Review, 2005

Special Section for MBAs

•

Peterson’s Guides, 2005

stay hired

•

Warren Christensen and Debbie McAfee (National Network for Artist Placement, 2005)

Get hired

International Programs—Internships and Work Exchange

Resources in Print aim

•

Get ready

•

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WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

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internships

Getting Your Ideal Internship

Your internship search is a unique opportunity

to do whatever you want with whatever organization interests you. If you want to work for a major movie studio, see the inside of a manufacturing plant, gain exposure to a nonprofit or government group, or work with a company that owns a brand you absolutely love—like Black Diamond, Burton, Coke, Apple, Nike, New Line Cinema, or Google—you can! Pick some targets and approach them. Follow the steps outlined in this guide and you’ll be pleased with the results. In some respects, it’s a numbers game. Yes, there are many students competing for the most prestigious internships. At the same time, there are very few students taking the extra steps to create their own internship experience. Whatever path you choose, you’re likely to recall your internship experience as one where you learned a great deal and gained valuable insight about your professional direction. So, go out and jump-start your career by finding or creating your dream internship.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

Special Section for MBAs

stay Hired

Get hired

Aim

get ready

In Closing

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W E T F E E T I N SIDER GUIDE

internships

WETFEET INSIDER GUIDES series

Job Hunting Getting Your Ideal Internship The International MBA Student’s Guide to the U.S. Job Search Job Hunting A to Z: Landing the Job You Want Job Hunting in New York City Job Hunting in San Francisco

Industries and Careers: General Industries and Careers for Engineers Industries and Careers for MBAs Industries and Careers for Undergraduates Million-Dollar Careers Industries and Careers: Specific Careers in Advertising and Public Relations Careers in Pharmaceuticals Careers in Brand Management Careers in Consumer Products Careers in Entertainment and Sports Careers in Health Care Careers in Human Resources Careers in Information Technology Careers in Marketing Careers in Nonprofits and Government Agencies Careers in Real Estate Careers in Retail Careers in Sales Careers in Supply Chain Management

Special Section for MBAs

Financial Services Companies Deutsche Bank Goldman Sachs Group JPMorgan Chase & Co. Merrill Lynch & Co. Morgan Stanley UBS AG

Career Management Be Your Own Boss Changing Course, Changing Careers Finding the Right Career Path Negotiating Your Salary and Perks Networking Works!

stay hired

Financial Services Careers 25 Top Financial Services Firms Careers in Accounting Careers in Asset Management and Retail Brokerage Careers in Investment Banking Careers in Venture Capital

Consulting Companies Accenture Bain & Company Booz Allen Hamilton Boston Consulting Group Deloitte Consulting McKinsey & Company

Get hired

Resumes & Cover Letters Killer Consulting Resumes Killer Cover Letters & Resumes Killer Investment Banking Resumes

Consulting Careers 25 Top Consulting Firms Careers in Management Consulting Careers in Specialized Consulting: Information Technology Consulting for PhDs, Lawyers, and Doctors

aim

Interviewing Ace Your Interview! Beat the Street® I: Investment Banking Interviews Beat the Street® II: I-Banking Interview Practice Guide The Wharton MBA Case Interview Study Guide: Volume I The Wharton MBA Case Interview Study Guide: Volume II

Get ready

Ace Your Case - Consulting Interviews Ace Your Case® I: Consulting Interviews, 3rd ed. Ace Your Case® II: Mastering the Case Interview Ace Your Case® III: Market-Sizing Questions Ace Your Case® IV: Business Strategy Questions Ace Your Case® V: Business Operations Questions

FOR YOUR REFERENCE

WETFEET INSIDER GUIDE

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