Internships are valuable for students because they allow them to explore industries, obtain experiences, hone their skills, and make connections. These experiences help students to create a stronger résumé and become a marketable candidate for future career opportunities. There are different methods students can utilize to obtain internships, below you will find a few examples and resources for your student. As a parent, you can check in with your student about their intentions to obtain an internship or their summer plans.
Luke’s internship story. As a student searching for an internship, I monitored a job and internship board for the specific industry I was interested in exploring. I applied for a few internships that were within driving distance of my home, to help keep expenses down. The application included a cover letter and résumé and I participated in a brief interview. I was fortunate to receive an offer and I accepted.
Carleton students can access Handshake, our job and internship platform, and search for opportunities by title, industry, location, and other factors important in an internship search. Career coaches and staff are available to help students learn how to best utilize Handshake to make the search process easy and attainable for this coming summer. Students can also utilize industry specific resources for their internship search.
Jess’s internship story. My method of landing an internship utilized a different approach. There was a particular organization I wanted to intern with and through my connections I discovered someone had previously worked at the organization. This particular connection introduced me to the director of the organization and I was able to secure an internship opportunity.
Students can utilize this approach by communicating their career interests with friends, family, faculty, and additional connections. They can also connect with Carleton alumni by utilizing the alumni directory and CarlsChats in order to conduct career conversations or possible career opportunities.
Thanks to the generous donations from Carleton alumni the Career Center is able to support unpaid and low-paying internships so that every Carl has the opportunity to have a high-impact internship experience. Once a qualifying internship is secured, students can apply for funding to support their costs of living and travel to their internship location.