So like millions of other college student’s you find yourself surrounded by peers with amazing internships, and you are worried not having one is putting you at a disadvantage. Although you may not be at a disadvantage, internships are a great way to build your resume and even secure a job before graduating. Don’t know where to get started? Don’t worry, PMG has got you covered. This is How to Get an Internship for smarties (we won’t call you dummies).

  1. Visit the career center at your school
    1. Anytime companies want to recruit interns from your college, they will tell your Career Center. If you sign up for their email list early in the year, you will receive plenty of emails with internship and job opportunities. Bonus points if you make nice with the Career Center advisors, remember they have all the connections.
  2. Join Organizations at your school
    1. Joining organizations like sororities, fraternities, cultural organizations and more will allow you to meet upperclassmen who will be graduating before you. They can help you get internships at their jobs or even share how they got the internships that landed them a job. Beyond that, a lot of these organizations have alumni databases, aka the holy grail. Alumni databases allow you to reach out to adults in the field you are interested in whom you have something in common with. They will be more open to helping you since you have a shared interest or identity. We suggest reaching out to them long before you need an internship. Ask them what they do at their job, how they like it, what they regret not doing in college, the best decision they made etc. When it comes time to ask for an internship, the rapport you have established will be a strong advantage.
  3. Make friends with your professors
    1. Everyone says this because it is TRUE. Your professors have more connections than you can imagine. Go to office hours, meet with your professor 1 on 1 to ask them for advice, ask them about their life or their research. You can even ask to do research with them or work with them outside of class.
  4. If any of these methods don’t work for you, don’t worry, there are so many more things you can do!
    1. Use LinkedIn’s internship search box or even post on your page that you are looking for an internship.
      1. For the best results add everyone you know to your network: friends, family, old colleagues or bosses etc. This will give you a better chance  of getting an offer through LinkedIn. 
    2. Search for internships on Glassdoor.
    3. Use your schools Alumni database.
    4. Search on Internship oriented websites
      1. Internmatch.com
      2. Internships.com
      3. Internqueen.com
      4. Looksharp.com

Remember, there is no one way to follow a career path. A conversation with a stranger could lead to a business deal, and a LinkedIn DM might change your life. It is not just “who you know” it’s also what you’ve done. Hopefully, you will take our advice and get an internship that leads you in the right direction.