I am currently a student at a CCC, majoring in business, with a 4.0 GPA and I will be transferring to USC in spring of 2019. For the past two years I have exclusively focused on my GPA and ignored all extracurriculars, which I am starting to regret. Furthermore, I do not have any connections, because I am originally from Germany (dual-citizen) and don’t know anyone besides my friends and professors. Since I am only taking two classes this fall, I would like to secure an Internship, but I have no idea where to start. I am experienced with investing in stocks, options and futures, however, that was always on my own and not through an employer.
I am trying to create a resume, which is turning out to be very empty. Firstly, I don’t even know, if I can claim to be a student at USC yet, even though I am committed to attend next spring. Secondly, having no work or internship experience, what should I write? Can I include my own investing experience? Also, one of my issues is finding internships in the first place. Unfortunately, I am not able to access any of USC’s resources yet, because my semester has not started yet.
So I am not experienced in this type of situation, so take my suggestions with a grain of salt. First, I would recommend using all the things you mentioned to your advantage in your resume. As long as you disclose that you are committed to USC but classes have not yet started for you, it should not be an issue. Make sure to mention when you will begin actually attending. Same with your investing experience, as long as you explain that they were through your own interest and not through a club or organization it should not be an issue. In fact it might even be seen as a display of self motivation and drive. Honesty is the best policy here. As far as finding internships, if you have looked at job listing resources such as indeed.com or idealist.com to no avail, you may need to find some local businesses and contact them on your own, asking if they would be willing to let you help out and learn. If you’re an introvert this will most likely be difficult, but eventually someone will most likely appreciate the free help. Hope some of that was helpful!
Does your school have a career center? If so make a visit there. The career center can help you work on your resume, interview skills, and may even have internship opportunities listed. That’s their job, to help students, most who have minimal experience, bridge toward the working world.