Didn't Get That Summer Internship... Choices?

<p>So I just changed my major from IT to Finance this year, my junior year. I have previous internship experience in IT but not in Finance because of the switch. Unfortunately, I was not able to secure a summer internship in Finance this summer. </p>

<p>I have came to the conclusion that I can do the following.
1) Get a co-op or internship during my senior year and prolong m graduation date. --> Then get a summer internship again in the summer.
2) Finish my senior year and try to get a full time position (maybe a Rotational Program) after graduation w/o any experience.
3) Finish my senior year and try to get a summer internship in finance. --> After internship search for a rotation program or full time position.</p>

<p>Would I even have a shot at getting a full time position w/o experience?
What should I do? Which choice?</p>

<p>Thanks guys.</p>

<p>Yes, you have a shot at a full time position without experience. Most jobs for people right out of college are entry level, so while having a foundation in the industry might help you learn more quickly, if you can prove that you are a quick learner, it’s not a big risk for a company to hire you.</p>

<p>I’ve said this a million times: I had no internships whatsoever (I waited tables every summer in college) and have been gainfully employed since I graduated. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need to follow a certain path to success.</p>

<p>But you went to UPenn…
I’m kind of curious about getting a summer internship after I graduate. Is it even possible or likely to happen? Most employers ask for full time students?</p>

<p>Please let me know and thank you for your post.</p>

<p>Try to look for anything you are qualified for, and just apply. Try to find a part-time position or internship in the field while you are a student, and if you don’t get anything, then apply for internships, programs, or full time positions (which can be done either before or after you graduate, depending on the position and the field). There’s no particular reason you have to choose an internship vs. a full time position after you graduate. Get whatever experience you can get, and apply to whatever positions you are interested in and qualified for.</p>

<p>Say I applied to full time positions earlier and had no luck or the company was still reviewing my app. After a couple of weeks no reply and then I applied for internships with the same company. What would they think?</p>

<p>BTW thank you very much for all of your responses.</p>

<p>Where I went to school really doesn’t matter as much as people think (trust me on that one). </p>

<p>A big problem among high achieving college students is that they think internships are the only path to success, so they basically discount or ignore experience in settings that aren’t “internships.” Spend a summer as a volunteer for a housing initiative? Not real experience, they say. But spend a summer as an unpaid intern for a housing initiative? Suddenly it is worth talking about on a resume! But believe it or not, hiring managers are smart too, and they know that the title of a job is meaningless; it’s what you do at your job that matters.</p>

<p>With that said, do you have any experience? I didn’t say “relevant” experience, I said ANY experience. Have you had any jobs? Have you been a leader in a club? Have you done academic research? All of these things are worth putting on a resume, and all of them will help you if you communicate properly (note: communicating properly doesn’t mean lying or embellishing; it just means expressing what you did in an interesting and meaningful way).</p>

<p>Keep looking. Get someone to review and critique your resume if you haven’t already; get someone to review and critique a cover letter before you send it; do some interview prep; learn what to do post-interview.</p>