Carleton College celebrated students’ experiential-learning achievements from Summer 2024 on Friday, October 18th at the Undergraduate Research & Internship Symposium. The Career Center was delighted to see the variety of opportunities that 260 students were able to find and complete! Carleton students impressed the audience with their resourcefulness and ingenuity, from the ice floes in the Arctic Circle to shepherding practices in Spain to economic research in Malaysia.
A cinema and media studies major shared, “For someone interested in filmmaking, working on a documentary is a good way to level up their skills.”
One biology major commented, “Overall, it was a great experience to see first-hand the scientific process. It helped me think about my future career goals. I also met many amazing scientists and interns, with whom I am still in touch!”
An economics major said, “I worked in a startup, which gave me invaluable exposure to business development.”
As the fall progresses, many students and families begin thinking about plans for the coming summer, and so do employers! A large percentage of the internship and research opportunities for summer 2025 will be posted publicly between October 2024 and February 2025, so it’s best to start sooner rather than later to look and apply. Winter break is a great time to focus on an internship search, and family members can support their students by keeping a few things in mind.
- Valuable summer experiences come in many forms
Your student’s goals and priorities will determine which summer opportunities to pursue. Although completing an internship is undoubtedly worth considering, returning to a summer job may also be worthwhile to continue a relationship with an existing employer. Perhaps a summer research experience is a better fit for your student’s major or shadowing healthcare professionals would be more useful. Our recent Summer Experiences Survey showed an almost even split between percentages of students completing internships (30%), paid work (26%), and research experiences (23%).
- Shopping around is informative and important
Students may be tempted to apply for the first opening(s) they find, but a good search is an informed one. It would be wise to do some research before applying. Reading several job descriptions, looking into companies they are considering on LinkedIn, or talking with contacts in their industries of interest (i.e., conducting informational interviews) can yield valuable perspectives into what they want and how to pursue it. Handshake, the Career Center’s job and internship platform, is another great tool that provides information on companies, jobs, and internships and is tailored to college students and recent alumni.
- They’ll benefit from exploratory conversations
When students are tentative about what they want to do, adults in their lives are often unsure how to help them. Setting the tone with a good conversation starter can make the difference. Instead of asking what they want to do, try asking: “What’s a concept from class that you’d like to see in the real world?”, “What internships have other students in your major done before?”, “What possibilities have you been thinking about so far?”. Many students will shut down if they feel they don’t have the “right” answer for their parents or authority figures, so using an open-ended approach to the conversation will be more effective in spurring exploration.
Resources for the search
The Career Center website includes many resources for your student’s summer experience search, including our Student Internship Database, which lists over 4,000 past internships that Carls have completed. Just click on “show search options” to start exploring the list! The Office of Student Fellowships also supports students pursuing a variety of research opportunities, on campus and worldwide.