You’re a student looking to get an internship. Where do you start and how can you stand out from the crowd?
To find out, I looked back at what worked and what didn’t work for me, reflected on the best advice, and asked other students who landed high-demand internships at Fortune 50 Companies from Kroger, Proctor and Gamble, General Electric and Microsoft.
Here’s what I found:
- Get your interviewer to ask what YOU want them to ask
What’s the number one way to direct your interview? Bold what’s important in your resume.
As an intern, many interviewers haven’t gotten a chance to read your resume with painstaking detail, so a quick scan is what they’re working off of when they start asking about your experiences. Bolded titles and headings steer the conversation. This can be anything- your test scores, a project you love working on, or an award you want to draw attention to.
Example:
Lacrosse athlete: offensive player on the Walnut Hills club team, undefeated for the 2018–2019 season and runner up at the GMC State Championships
2. Follow Up
A lot of us forget about this one- send a brief 3-sentence follow up email within a day from your interview. Employers LOVE this and are especially impressed if you’re a student. Make sure it’s personalized to the specific interviewer or company. Follow up emails aren’t reserved for just after an interview, if you send a cheery email after an acceptance or rejection you’ll leave a lasting impression.
Here’s a template:
Hello [Name],
I’m really glad we could chat earlier today about the [X] internship! I loved [some aspect about the interviewer] and am excited about [work company is doing]. Looking forward to hear back!
Best,
[Your Name}
3. Be a self-learner
Even though “I’m the intern” can be an almost derogatory term, it is beneficial in one way: you’re not expected to come in with a lot of experience or incredible technical skills. For even many top Fortune 50 companies, students said their employers don’t expect a strong technical foundation and are willing and expecting to train a student. So make sure to mention a time you had to learn things by yourself. Interviewers seriously love it. It a surprising skill that employers look for that is often forgotten.
“I loved [X Class] because we got to do a lot of self learning so I could get ahead a bit and learn more”
“Organizing [X Event] taught me a lot about being on my feet- I had to learn marketing when fundraising and web development when we wanted a website.”
4. Think out loud
Sounds crazy- but if you’ve been met with a tricky question, think through the answer out loud. Even if you don’t get the right answer, the interviewer can understand your thought process. For example, if your interviewer asks a difficult “brain teaser” questions about how to most efficiently get 3 people across the bridge (happened before!) or a highly technical problem, talk through how you want to approach the problem. This opens the conversation up for them to add their input and to help steer you in the right direction as well. Creating conversation from a difficult problem indicates that you’re a team player and an effective communicator as well.
“I’m thinking since [X], I can start [here] and then…”
5. Do you homework (sorry :))
Here’s a way to impress: before your interview, jot down a few notes on the company’s history or recent news and the alma mater of your interviewer. Then, when you walk into an interview you can use these as casual conversation points. It’s a great way to show your preparedness and avoid looking stiff.
“I read that PepsiCo just acquired sodastream, It’s so cool that people can make soda at home!”
“I saw you attended Georgetown University and I’m thinking of applying there. Did you enjoy it?”
6. Make it unconventional
Think internships are only for tech careers or marketing? Not true! Sometimes it’s difficult to find an internship program if you’ve got a really specific interest- say, how to design pottery or optimization of nanofibers. Reach out to a local expert- it might be a well-known designer or professor at a local university. It probably won’t be easy, but show them what related projects you’ve done in their field, why you’re especially curious to learn more and be relentless. Send cheery and respectful follow up emails if they don’t respond and sometimes they’ll just give you a chance.
Here’s an example email:
Hi Dr. Burr,
I’m Morgan, a junior at Mason High School. I noticed on your webpage that you are doing research in retroviruses which is a topic I’m really interested in. It’s so fascinating how retroviruses can create effective hyper binding sites and I would love to learn more about it. I’m interested in doing research on this topic at this lab. Would it be possible for us to chat in person or on the phone sometime soon?
Best,
Morgan
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