How to find an Internship that matters?

Finding the right internship may feel like a task – and it is. But with a bit of sincerity, determination, persistency, and luck you could land the perfect opportunity. Again, if you are looking for a magic wand to fetch your dream internship on click of a mouse – I am going to disappoint you. But for those willing to perspire, here is how.

To begin with, it would be nice to have some sense on what sort of opportunity you are looking for. May not be as specific as working on design of underwater foundation of world’s longest trans-oceanic bridge across Hangzou Bay in China, but yes to know that you prefer area of structural engineering would be helpful. And what if you don’t have that sense as yet?

You are surrounded by people (friends, seniors, family, and faculty) who all have been through similar dilemma and can help. Make an effort and start talking – tell them your academic background, interests and if there is a particular assignment/course/project that you really liked. You’d be pleasantly surprised to see how people love to talk if anyone is willing to listen. The tips, the pointers and the contacts these conversations may generate could be real eye openers. Try it!

There are 2 more useful resources available – first is Training & Placement Office (TPO) whose sole purpose is to help students with their career needs. The second is the seminars and talks on the campus where people from all walks of life interact with students – keep your ears and eyes open and exploit these opportunities to your advantage.

Once you have a sense of direction, the road ahead is simpler. Just focus your efforts in that direction. Again the people, who showed you the path, are also the people who can help you walk the path. Search for individuals and organizations (power of Google) that are working in your area of interest and may have a requirement for someone just like you to help them.

Thanks to LinkedIn and Facebook, it has become so easy to find and connect with people (a note of caution on this later). Your real world network (father of a friend or a friend of father) could prove equally, if not more, useful – just let people know that you are looking for help.

Once you have zeroed on a few selected internships to pursue, comes the final step – to contact and to apply – and this is where many of us falter and I would cover this in a greater detail in next blog. But avoiding some common pitfalls should secure you your dream internship.

Admittedly, the whole process is not simple and it is OK to feel stressed at times. There would be days when you would feel clueless, there would be people who would not return your calls or emails, and there would be peers who would have a better shot at an internship because they are in a different education stream/college. At the end of the day, it won’t matter – success is not final, failure is not fatal; it’s the courage to go on that counts!

Have something to say, ask, critique or know of an internship opportunity that you would like others to know – post it right away!