General Advice
If you don’t have a resume, or if it is very outdated, go to the Career Center!
The Carleton Career Center is great at many things, and one thing they really excel at is helping people make and update their resumes. They also have a useful online resource called Carls Chat which brings students interested in a specific field face to face with an alumni experienced in that field. During the term, you can drop in anytime on a weekday from 9:00 am-5:00 pm for a Student Career Assistant (SCA) consultation. Alternatively, you can make an appointment with an SCA or Career coach through Handshake.
Resumes should be one page, but you should have a catalog of your experiences.
The one-page resume rule is true for most things you are going to apply for in the next five years. Until you have enough impressive things to fill up more than a page, keep your experiences concise and relevant to what you are applying for. However, you should have a long version of your resume that includes every internship, experience, or opportunity you have done. That way you can easily select relevant experiences for your one-page resume.
Include FOCUS and other programs you are a part of!
For example, you should say that you are a part of FOCUS, which is a “selective curriculum-based program for students from traditionally underrepresented groups in STEM fields.” And you should do this for other programs or groups you are a part of.
Have at least one person read your application.
A second pair of eyes is always necessary when writing anything that is important. This can be difficult because applications can feel very personal, but you need to make sure that it is in the best possible shape. The Career Center and Writing Center are both great resources to review your application. Be sure to finish your application early enough to leave time for this important step.
Increase your chances: apply to many opportunities.
If you are applying to the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF REU) or similar programs, then it is recommended to apply to 8-12 different programs. For internships in industry, it is a bit more difficult to know how many to apply for. Each one might have a specific requirement that you may or may not match. However, apply for a similar number if you would really like an internship.
When writing an essay response:
Stay away from cliches.
It is difficult to be original if you are new to writing applications about yourself. With a word limit, it is hard to balance the details of your response with the scope of it. But this does not mean you should fall into cliches. Never include in your essay: “From a young age….”, “I have always been fascinated with…” or “In today’s world….”
Provide evidence to back up what you are saying.
Similar to the way that we provide evidence when writing a lab report or essay, try to back up your claims with specific evidence. For example, “By earning a B+ in the class and later TA’ing for it, I have developed a strong understanding of organic chemistry, which will help me pursue my interests in polymer research.”
Don’t focus on the negative.
If you do not have “ideal” grades or haven’t yet had a research experience, don’t try to apologize for it! Unless you have a short and strongly compelling reason, then don’t waste time on it. If you are missing a qualification, then explain how some other experience you have makes up for that absence.
Get the terminology right!
When you are writing anything related to research, make sure you double-check the terms you use. The fastest way to lose points in applying for a position is to get the terminology wrong. So make sure you do your homework before talking about research topics you are not fully familiar with. You should always have a professor or someone in that major verify it for you.
Know how to talk about yourself!
This will be difficult at first, but it is necessary to write a good application. This requires figuring out what are the most salient parts of yourself and your identity that should be included in your application but that can’t be inferred from your resume or transcript.
Make sure you know what they are asking.
The are lots of questions that are very similar, but try to make sure you are answering specifically what they are asking. It may help to ask for clarification or reword their question when giving your response.