My S spent last fall applying for summer (2018) internships and has not received any positive response - no interviews, nothing. He is now updating his resume and is about to start applying again. He’s gone to the college career center multiple times and doesn’t feel they have been helpful at all. He’s been to the career fairs and again has hit a dead end. We have reached out to people we know in the business and have received very little encouragement. I think his resume is good, he comes across as a clean cut, intelligent, and well spoken young man (imo - his mother:)
Is it that difficult to find a Mech E summer internship? Any advice on how to break into this field? We are really stuck so any ideas would be helpful. He is currently a junior and feels that this summer is his last chance and believes that he will not be able to get a job when he graduates if he has not had an internship. He’s feeling very discouraged.
He needs to talk to his professors asap. And then start with the grad students in his department- whether they are TA’s or not- any grad student in his department is a potential source for a summer job.
Why does he think the career center hasn’t been helpful- have they made suggestions he hasn’t taken?
And what happens at the career fairs- does he approach the recruiters with his resume in hand and then they just don’t get back to him???
Most companies do not start hiring engineering summer interns until after Christmas. In addition to following up with the career center, I’d recommend that he check websites of local companies to see if they have summer internship programs and apply if possible. There are lots of internship opportunities, however, you need to be prepared to pursue multiple options.
Thank you! @blossom and @Pellicanss I believe he has talked to his professors and TAs. They are really into doing research and going to grad school. He’s not leaning in that direction. They don’t seem to have many ties to industry. It’s good to hear that there are a lot of opportunities. @yourmomma He has applied to some manufacturing companies. He is open to any and all options, but so far nothing has paid off. Hopefully, some new job ads will come out now and he can cast a wide net.
Has he approached small engineering firms? Mining companies? Oil industry? Does he have local limitations? He will travel and live anywhere? He has been using web searches all year? Linked in? Email? He might want to pick up the phone.
If he hasn’t already, he needs to register on LinkedIn and start applying online. That’s how my daughter found her last two internships, not through the carrier fairs (which are huge at her school). I just searched on ME internships listings on LinkedIn and found 714 listed.
A rule of thumb we used, was apply to 50 internships for every solid “offer”. My daughter did research each company/job before applying, so she was prepared once she started to get calls. She found both internships after January 1’st, with the first one in March, so you do have time.
A lot of work goes into researching these companies. Applying (on LinkedIn or anywhere where you can load your resume) is the easy step.
Doing ME research over the summer is not a bad backup plan. It will give him something to talk about during your interviews, and shows you can work with a team. It also opens up the “option” of grad school.
Note that career centers can be very useful for tuning up your resume and doing mock interviews. He should also share his resumes with friends, who will give him feedback on his resume.
Doing research is a fine way to spend his summer, especially if it’s in an area with a lot of commercial applications. If his professors and grad students are willing to help him get a research position, that is not a bad fallback. Just because he doesn’t want to go to grad school doesn’t mean that “research” is a bad thing. And it will give him something substantive to talk about next year when he’s interviewing for full time jobs.
I’m curious what U your son attends if he’s finding career services unhelpful. They usually love the ME students- easy to help them launch.
I can’t believe his professors don’t have contacts and connections in industry. That research they are doing- it’s funded by commercial enterprises most of the time. They are out there getting grants and writing proposals and going to conferences. Perhaps he could approach a few of them with a more open-ended question- not “can you help me get a job” but more of a “I am interested in topic X. Where do you see that as most relevant?”
And he needs to go back to career services. There is likely more to the story here. These folks get PAID to help your son find a job!
Also, many larger companies prefer engineering interns who have completed their sophmore year. If your son has not completed his sophmore year, he should focus on smaller companies.
If he is interested in smaller companies, find out the local associations or national associations and try to work thru them. Precision metal forming assoc (PMA) and fabrication manufacturers assoc (FMA) are two. Sometimes the can distribute your interest and credentials to their members.
My recent civ-e grad also had little luck with his school’s career office and job fairs.
He said that the companies at the most recent job fair he attended there were represented by recent grads that he had been in classes with previously and most were not involved in the hiring process and just described the company and then directed him to their website.
The career office reviewed resumes (which I have a good friend who has spend decades in HR that would do that for him), set up mock interviews, and invited companies to campus - generally at times that were very inconvenient for him - like in the middle of his mid-terms. But he didn’t find any opportunities through that office.
We went the online route - I’d search Linked In, Indeed, Career Builder, and Google for civil engineering internships and email him lists of opportunities to submit resumes to. Before his first internship he applied to 100-150 opportunities (I believe it was about 120), got 2 interviews (both in the spring, he didn’t hear anything before his spring break that year), and got 1 offer. But it just takes 1.
@jrcsmom My S had the same experience at the job fairs and the on site company meetings. Right in the middle of mid-terms! He’s been using Indeed and is on Linked In. We will have to do some more searching and applying. I’m glad to hear that people have gotten internships during the Spring semester. I thought we were a bit behind. Thanks for the feedback.
Lucky me … 40 years ago my engineering college career center was jacked. Smart guys had jobs by January 1st and guys like me had jobs by April.
If career center is not helpful, then have your S get the alumni list and email those mechanical engineers in firms he wants to work for. Ping them again then follow up with a phone call. Also evaluate their LinkedIn profile and try to link with them. Constantly review all potential employers websites for openings/announcements. Link with someone who can be you advocate.