6 Steps to Securing a Summer Internship


The USC Career Center is a helpful place to start when looking for internships. Alina Tang | Daily Trojan

The USC Career Center is a helpful place to start when looking for internships. Alina Tang | Daily Trojan

It may be only late October, but it never hurts to start thinking about summer plans. Many companies are already doing heavy-duty recruitment on college campuses, and USC is no exception. In the last few weeks, the Career Center has become a hub of students shuffling between information sessions and interviews. But don’t fret! Below are some tips on how to score your dream summer internship.

1. APPLY APPLY APPLY
Applying is always the first step, and it’s arguably the hardest part of the process. But once you’ve compiled a list of potential companies and submitted your first application, the rest will come easy. My advice is to always keep quality in mind. While applying to more positions increases your likelihood of landing an internship, all your efforts will be in vain if recruiters can tell you haven’t put in thought. Make sure you personalize every application by tailoring your resume and cover letter to each position.  

2. Research the company
This seems like an obvious suggestion, but it is never emphasized enough. Researching a company is not just looking up the mission statement or memorizing annual revenue figures. Recruiters are always more impressed when you know unique corporate information because it leads to more interesting questions and dialogue. During one of my most successful interviews, I mentioned that I read about the CEO’s plans to expand in China. The recruiter and I ended up discussing globalization and Asian consumer markets for half an hour, and I could tell I made a positive first impression that way.

3. Reach out to personal connections
When you applied for college, you probably sought the advice of dozens of other people. Choosing a summer internship is a lot like choosing a university — you want to find out as much as possible beyond corporate facts and figures that can be found online. I recommend talking to professors, mentors, friends, older students and anyone who has had prior internship or work experience at the company. You can ask them what a typical work day is like, how they enjoyed the work culture and who they reached out to for guidance. These are things only someone who went through the same experience can tell you.

4. Practice answering questions
Many interviewers use situational questions to assess a candidate’s potential fit with the company. To prepare for these, you should think of some strong personal anecdotes that can be applied to different scenarios. For example, think of a time when you had to juggle multiple responsibilities or a time you had to deal with a difficult team member. By anticipating the type of questions you might receive, you can tailor your responses to match what the company seeks while still revealing your own uniqueness.

5. Give yourself a background check
Most college students have a strong online presence from their Facebook profile and/or Instagram feed. Take a look at your past content and make sure none of it is inappropriate or distasteful. A precautionary measure is to change your privacy settings so not everyone can access your pictures, posts and statuses.

6. Be yourself
Finally, take the time to think about how you and the company you are applying to can mutually benefit from employing you. You are interviewing the company as much as the company is interviewing you, so make sure you really evaluate your desire to work for them because it will show. Once you establish a genuine interest, it will be much easier to be authentic and personable in your interview, so always stay true to yourself.