How to land that design internship. Every. Single. Time.
Sophomore and Junior year of college I received paid design internship offers from two different companies. Just like you are thinking— It wasn’t easy. My journey included a lot of searching, time, and work.
Since freshman year of college, I wanted an internship. A degree from a school of design doesn’t get you very far, experience and connections do. The design industry is a competitive place, and I wanted experience which would help me land future jobs. So let me tell you how I made it happen my junior year. We’ll start the journey with the search.
Internship Hunting
Internships pop-up throughout the year, but Summer is probably the most popular time for internships because students aren’t in school. Summer is the best time for full-time internships, but part-time internships during the school year are often underlooked.The internship offer which I took was a winter internship, which appeared on job boards in October. It was part-time while I was still at school, but I could easily balance part-time hours. Plus, I didn’t have class in December, so I could work almost full-time.
Be quick with opportunities
One of the biggest mistakes I see is people waiting last second to find an internship. Especially for Summer internships, applications for large companies usually close way back in October-December.
When you’re not looking at major companies though, internships come and go fast. If a small or mid-size company needs someone quick, the position will only be up for a matter of weeks. One thing to keep in mind is that all the jobs on the job boards aren’t necessarily open. Sometimes internships stay on job boards despite the position being filled. So if the post date is from a couple months ago, chances are it was already filled and never taken down. Newer postings are always the safest bet, so stay up to date with postings.
Keep looking for new opportunities, weekly, many small companies will post and want to start interviews within that week or month.
Personally, I’ve applied within a week of an internship posting, and gotten an interview either the same week or the next.
What internships should I be applying to?
If you’ve never held an internship before, never worked in the industry, never did research in your field, or you do not know someone who can help you land an internship at the company. My advice will be:
Start with smaller companies
Sorry, but unless you are an absolute beast with an outstanding portfolio, I would recommend not wasting your time trying to get those exclusive Google, Spotify, or NASA design internships. I know, I know, I want to intern there too, but the world doesn’t work like that.
You know who is much more likely to hire?
Start-ups, small companies, and mid-size companies!
My favorite places to hunt for internships:
- Handshake (If you have an .edu email)
- LinkedIn (Everyone is on here)
- Career Fairs (online/in-person)
- internships.com (Has some cool opportunities)
- Any alumni or School networking site
The Application
This personally has always been the toughest part. Getting a company to even read your application is a struggle of its own. You take the time to fix up your resume, build your portfolio, and even edit a cover letter to perfection. Then a day goes by. A week. A month. No rejection, no contact, nothing.
Tips to get your application noticed:
- If this isn’t the most obvious, get a connection within the company or reach out. If you know someone — even indirectly, that works for that company, get them to allow you to use them as a recommendation. Ask politely if you can put their name down in your application as a “recommended by.” Use your network! Friends, alumni, someone at a career fair, or if bold enough — someone you find through linkedin.
- Keywords. Many companies sort applications right away using keywords, make sure you use words mentioned in the internship’s description as “required” or “recommended” skills. Chances are they might be keywords that a robot looks for while scanning your resume. I’ve been rejected by one too many robots to know this.
- Keep your resume to one page. No recruiter wants to have to find stuff, in a 2 or 3 page resume. They want a one page resume with everything related to the position that they could easily skim. Work experience, education, clubs, skills, achievements, etc.
- Cover letters. Cover letters can be a big help, and even when not required, it is always best to send a cover letter. It is much more personal, and if read, while definitely increase your chances of an interview.
When in doubt, send a cover letter
The portfolio
I’ve had companies give me offers with and without looking at my portfolio, but no matter what, for design careers a portfolio is always a must.
Something which is always underlooked when creating a portfolio is the: Design Process.
Pictures are nice, but what else… Where is the process of your work? Show me the original brainstorm, the sketches, tell me why you created this, what the inspiration was, the steps along the way, what you did different. Stop hiding the process! It’s the most important part beside the final product.
Have at least 2–3 “top-shelf” projects.
Common mistake: Having too many projects. Sometimes it is better that you keep out that high school project from years ago, or that class assignment that you did in just one week. You should only be showing future employers “the goods.” 10 is probably a fair number to sit around. Personally I landed internships with just 5 projects in my portfolio, 2 of them which I would call “top-shelf projects.”
Also, make sure your portfolio is accessible, especially if you’re applying for UX positions. The portfolio should look good on any device, it doesn’t really matter how your portfolio is hosted. I’ve used behance.net, my own personal website, squarespace. I’ve seen github and pdf portfolios. Whatever works, employers don’t tend to care if you have a personal website or not.
The Interview
The interview is my personal bread and butter. Give me an interview and I will ace it. Every. Single. Time. Trust me, I’m not a great public speaker or in-person storyteller. Yet I pull it off every time.
Confidence is King. Show leadership skills.
No company is going to hire someone who is indecisive or uncertain about their own knowledge. Most companies like someone who will take charge. Show them that you know what you’re talking about. An interview is where it is ok to show off your accomplishments and knowledge. As long as it doesn’t come off as pretentious.
They’ll hire a smart, well-spoken, confident person any day of the week. Who doesn’t want that on their team?
Many companies also hire for amiability. They don’t hire just based off skill and experience. They’re looking for someone who will be able to learn, and grow for internships. So if you’re personable, the employer will have an increased chance of liking you and giving an offer.
If you’re interested in how to ace the interview, check out my article on ‘UX Collective,’ about acing my first Product Design Interview here:
Some main takeaways from the article include:
Preparing, asking question, likeability, getting the employer to picture you in the company and its solutions, industry terms, not stressing, being polite, being yourself, etc. (I could go on-and-on so I encourage you to check out the article).
The Offer
Usually a company will tell you when to expect to hear from them. Have a positive mindset, manifestation is real. I always went out of my interviews with confidence knowing I did good, but there was always the voice in the. back of my head telling me I might not get the offer.
Usually I heard back the next week. If it goes past the time they tell you to expect a decision, there is no issue with following up with an email. The one time I followed up, they said I emailed at the perfect time — and that I got the internship offer.
If you don’t get the internship, I need you to understand something — It’s ok. It doesn’t mean you’re a failure or you did bad. You should be proud of yourself that you tried, and you should keep trying, learning from experience.
Wait, I want to intern at Big Tech or Government Agencies
I know you do. These are peoples dream jobs. I would love a chance to intern at a government agency because a government design position is one of my career goals, but many times these positions get the most applications. It is almost everyone's dream, so it's going to be tough. Chances are, a lot more people have a lot more connections and skills than you.
I’ve seen some questionable government highers, and when it comes to big tech they love hiring people with elaborate out-of-this-world portfolios and academic records. The best-of-the-best.
Your chances will increase if you get good job experience interning at other companies, then throwing actual projects and experience into your own resume and portfolio to land these internships or jobs in the future.
Don’t get me wrong — There is no harm in applying. You never know. But on the other hand, don’t get your hopes up.
So what’d we learn?
Networking and connections will get you the best opportunities. If you’re going in cold — Your best bet is smaller companies.
Keep up to date, and pounce on opportunities. They come and go. Apply early for internships, especially summer internships, start looking early.
Joinhandshake.com and linkedin.com
Keywords, cover letters, and a one page resume will help you greatly.
An amazing portfolio that isn’t too saturated and has a couple projects you love and know by heart, with the process included.
Preparing for interviews and being personable will help you with closing the deal. Also, don’t be afraid to follow up.
Keep applying, you never know which shots you take will land.
Best of luck on getting those design internships!
