Area employers contact our college with internship opportunities. In turn, we promote these opportunities to our business students via email. We also maintain a list of available internship opportunities. In addition, many business students discover excellent internship opportunities on their own and submit them for approval. If you are interested in landing a great internship, follow these steps:
Continue to review the internship announcements that come in your email. For any that are of interest to you, respond quickly by sending a cover letter and resume to the contact person in the announcement. Many employers will accept your cover letter and resume electronically (via email) (but be sure to confirm that they will accept your resume electronically if it isn’t specified in the announcement.) If you need help preparing a cover letter and resume, visit the Career Resource Center located in the lower level of group 1.
Think about the type of internship that will help you meet your personal goals. For example, for an accounting student planning on a career in public accounting, an internship with a local CPA firm or a summer internship with one of the national firms makes sense. However, if an accounting major wants to go into management accounting, an internship as a staff accountant or internal auditor might make more sense.
Ask yourself these questions:
What do I want to get out of an internship?
Do I want to work during the summer or the Fall or Spring semesters?
Can I afford an unpaid internship?
Explore possibilities on your own. Review job listings in the Sunday classified ads of the Boston Globe, Providence Journal, Standard Times, and Fall River Herald News. Although companies rarely advertise internships in the newspaper, you may discover a contact person to whom you can send your own cover letter and resume to inquire or propose an internship. Developing “leads” is a key to landing your own internship. Consider sending a letter of inquiry and your resume to prospective employers. An example inquiry letter is contained towards the end of this document.
Search online job banks for internships. Our Career Resource Center (CRC) can help you lean how to do this. CRC also posts some internship announcements on:
www.monstertrak.monster.com/MonsterTrak is a useful portal for students looking for the first job or an internship. Since it is updated each day, you need to visit frequently and respond quickly to any internship opportunities that interest you. Other online job banks with local job internship job postings include:
BostonWorks (www.bostonworks.boston.com)
Career Builder (
http://www.careerbuilder.com/)
Search for keyword: Internship
Attend a career fair (on campus or off campus) and discuss your desire to land a great internship with recruiters. Follow-up potential leads with a resume and cover letter.
Talk to other students who have completed internships. Your peers are a great source of information regarding internships. They can give you first hand knowledge about the employer and whether they think the experience was worth the time and effort.
Be prepared for the interview. Successful interns do the following:
· They know the company before they interview. You should conduct some basic research prior to the interview. Visit the company’s website. Know the products and services they provide.
Know its mission and if possible, understand its history. This type of knowledge will give you confidence in the interview and will show that you have a sincere interest in the organization.
· Dress appropriate for they interview. Most internships are in professional settings therefore you should be well dressed for your interview.
· Arrive on time. Punctuality is very important in. Your on-time arrival will show you have respect for schedules.
· Bring a current version of your resume. If you need help preparing a resume, make an appointment with the UMD Career Resource Center.
