By: Laura Balinski
To anyone out there that will not have an internship this summer, you are not alone!! As someone who applied to many this year and came out with nothing, I just want to tell you that it’s going to be okay. As college students entering their sophomore, junior, and senior year we all know the pressures that internships cause, and it can be overwhelming on top of school and everything else. I feel that there is so much stress on college students as early as freshman year to have an internship for every summer and if you don’t have one you are a failure. That might be a little dramatic, but that’s exactly what I was thinking about going into this summer with absolutely nothing going into my junior year. However, the few tips I am going to talk about helped me change my negative mindset and look at the positives. I hope that after reading this and reflecting on your own situation that you still hold yourself highly and realize you are not the only one without an internship.
1. First of all, we are in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC
Yeah, last time I checked we are still in a pandemic and our lives have not been the same. Over a year ago the whole world shut down and life had to go on pause. This put a set back on many things going on in people’s lives, and for many college students, their summer internships were cancelled or went remote if lucky enough. This means that many were moved to the following summer, so spots were already filled for this summer before others had a chance to apply. Even today the future is still unknown, and many companies have decided to not do any internships this summer, limiting the number of internships students would have the chance to apply to normally. All I’m saying is that the global pandemic and the consequences of it, are something completely out of your control so cut yourself some slack.
2. Remembering your self-worth and staying positive
The pressure that Isenberg and just college in general puts on us for internships is extremely stressful and overwhelming in my opinion. After gaining no success with application rounds and even interviews, it can really hurt your self-confidence. Personally, I am someone who is extremely hard on themselves, so when I failed to get an internship this summer, it was something hard for me to deal with. So, if you are like me and need some positive reinforcement, I want you to remember how amazing, motivated, and talented of a person you are and that this little set is just a bump in your full life of success. Any experience is a good experience, so I have done my best to remain positive throughout this time and look at all the things I can still do this summer. There is also one piece of advice that many people have told me that I really like “Just enjoy this time because you are going to work in the business world, probably at a desk, for the rest of your life so enjoy this time while you still have it”. Personally, that has helped me realize that I can take advantage this summer of just enjoying my summer job as a Pool Server where I get to work with all my friends and have super flexible hours.
3. Future resources to look out for
Now that I have hopefully made you feel a little better about your situation, let’s focus on how to secure that internship for next year. First resource to take advantage of if you haven’t already been is the Chase Career Center in Isenberg. They offer so much support for anyone looking to practice for an interview, get their resume looked over, or just figure out what to wear to the interview. They are constantly sending weekly emails of all the events and feature lots of internships. I hope in the fall semester all the events like Career Fairs can be in person, but for now I would say start planning for them because they are coming soon. Another thing that I found super helpful, and a great resource is the business clubs I’m a part of. Through WiB and Isenberg Marketing Club I became a Student Ambassador for the Women of Isenberg Virtual Speaker Series and participated in Networking Night with the Marketing Club. Both were amazing opportunities to work on my networking skills and get used to talking to recruiters. I hope to eventually experience those and many more in person.
Overall, I still want to congratulate everyone who received an internship this summer! But to all my fellow classmates who are in my shoes, keep your head up high and don’t stress too much, We all got this!!
