Guide to getting an internship!

As a sophomore who got a government internship in DC during fall semester, I'm constantly asked, "How'd you get that?!" *insert confused face*
Yes, I may be young, but I'm not the only one, and I'm not in on special secrets you can't get in on.
So, here is a quick guide to getting a foot into the real world through an internship! Take advantage of every opportunity you get, and it will directly or indirectly lead to much much more!

Firstly, figure out what you want to do. This is pretty obvious, but it's necessary for your search. You're not going to do well at all if it isn't at least slightly in your field(s) of interests. There's a good chance you'll want your supervisor to write you a recommendation one day, and you want it to be a good one! That said, NOW is your chance to explore different areas, even if you don't fall in love, you'll know what you want to do in the future a little bit better, so don't LIMIT yourself either.
Some good resources are your major advisors, school career services office/career/internship fairs, which are great places to build connections. Personally, I didn't use either, but I know people who have and it will give you ideas.

If you know organizations or businesses you want to work for one day, check their website's careers page! If there aren't any postings for internships, send an email and ask! Be proactive.

If you're looking to learn more about a field, or gain experience in something like medicine/law, consider shadowing as well, especially if you want to explore different areas or you're too early into college for the internship you want/maybe you don't have enough time. Find professionals in your area and call them! Email in *addition*.

If not, don't worry! Start with a basic google search. Or, you can go directly to posting sites. ( I've never applied through something like indeed.com, if anyone has I'd like to hear a story, because I once submit a resume on a slightly similar site and never got any form of reply).
Recommended sites:
If you're looking for a government internship (which can be relevant to literally ANY field and is wonderful to have, because you'll get a security clearance, sometimes really good pay, flexible, great connections, etc. etc.), go straight to the source: usajobs.com

Go to different universities' career services sites, you might see more postings.

One you've FOUND opportunities, you need to apply!

Do NOT just sit down in five minutes and submit something. Your application needs to be competitive.
If you need to, go to your school's career services, and have them look over your résumé and cover letter. Let them help you. If you don't have this available, have a friend look it over. I've only submit a cover letter once, and have yet to hear back from that. I definitely recommend having people look over this for you, at the writing center, or one of your friends or advisors, just let someone help you with it!
My tips for resumes: CHANGE YOUR RESUME FOR DIFFERENT JOBS. Keep it as relevant as possible. You CAN tweak to make it more appealing for the opportunity to which you are applying, even through your vocabulary. ALWAYS keep it one page. Keep only the most important things listed under your experience section, and list the rest in a very brief list of skills/other. For your experiences, be sure to list skills gained, deeper than just tasks performed. Be descriptive but concise. Of course, have an education section and list some awards/honors if applicable. Here is a basic template:


Header:

• Name, email
• Phone
• Address

Body:

• Education:
• dates attended (degree earned if applicable)
• major/minor
• credits/year
• any honors
• leadership positions, important clubs/programs
• Experience:
• The most important jobs and internships/positions, even leadership positions, research, working for school newspaper, etc. For each, list the following: -organization name; start/end dates (possibly average hours/week); skills gained; advisor name/email if necessary; location
• Other/skills:
• You can list volunteer work, just by name. List languages you speak, computer programs you're familiar with, skills not listed earlier (I listed things like programming and editing here, because I don't have work experience in it but I do have experience in them.)

Remember that your language should be simple, but you should be using language to your advantage in making yourself stand out. You answered phones? Great--you learned interpersonal communication skills, and were able to handle questions, maybe? (All depends on what YOU were doing)  Make sure that, especially in your cover letter, you are showing not just why you WANT to work here, but why THEY would benefit from YOU working here.


**Be aware of the internship requirements, some may be full time while you're also a full-time student, so they won't work. Many require at least junior status, so you may have to wait to apply. Sometimes previous experience will substitute for education. Sometimes, it's required that you're receiving college credit for it, so if you don't qualify with your school, this may be an issue.

If you think you don't have any experience and your application is lacking, my biggest piece of advice is to get involved in every way possible at your school. No matter how small or large your school is, there IS a way for you to become involved. That's the only way you can make yourself well rounded. I think most people in college are involved, so this shouldn't be an issue, but if not, don't worry, now is your chance as much as any day. Get.out.there.!!! Find clubs, look at bulletin boards, go to events, talk to your professors for classes you're interested in. Talk to professors for classes you haven't taken but find interesting! Just DO something.

Once you have applied, and your application has been reviewed, the organizations will be begging for an asset like you after you made yourself stand out so well! But you'll need to get interviewed most likely...so that, for length's sake, will be my next post!
I'm also going to do my own story sometime this week, so we will be looking out for that too!

Peace, until next time,
As I get off to finishing my second to last paper for this intersession class!

I've included some samplings of my internship experience, as per my Instagram feed.

All photos in this post are from my Instagram, which is @lailaayub (FOLLOW!) I adore Instagram quite dearly. And I'm still getting a hang of my blog, so bear with me, these photos were uploaded from the blogger app so let's hope placement is alright.

Sensible shoes, please. I recommend not counting on your feet being blood-free after walking five miles even in the most comfortable of black wedges. (+my coat skirt)

DAR Constitution Hall for the Attorney General's Annual Award Ceremony (for which I volunteered!)