<p>I'm a business major and a college freshman hoping to do an internship over the summer of 2008. Right now, I'm looking at all the companies my college recruits from. I am going to their sites to look at the internship information.<br>
My school isn't all that great so that means the companies aren't all that great so I was also looking at the more prestigious companies to see if they have internship opportunities available. So basically I fill in the internship application and wait for a reply back, right? What are some other steps to take to secure a great internship? Thanks.</p>
<p>i always recommend students stop by their schools career center. no matter how good or not good your school is, they should have some type of listing of internships for their students. those are probably the easiest way to lock down an internship.</p>
<p>try and find alum from your college in those companies. contact them and get them to push for an interview for you. Just filling out an online application won't do you too much good ...</p>
<p>You won't get much luck just submitting your resume online. esp. as a college freshman who probably doesn't have any relevant work experience or spectacular leadership. And the odds are against you even more since you're applying to "prestigious companies" that already have a great number of well-qualified applicants.</p>
<p>The best thing for you to do is to apply to those part-time/internship positions posted on your career services website. Those employers are specifically targeting students at your company. Who cares if the companies aren't all that great? At this point, it's not like you have much to offer. So take what you can. Use it as business experience to help leverage yourself to the next internship.</p>
<p>Although I do commend you for taking initiative and trying to find an internship early in college, just be aware that your approach may not be effective.</p>
<p>And if you do some research, you'll see the same advice: talk to alum, keep your grades up, get involved, take on leadership roles, network, network, network ...</p>
<p>I'm afraid I can't be much help as I applied online, but after they had a.) done a presentation at my school b.) talked to and established a relationship with our full-time placement coordinator, as our placement has some academic credit attached.</p>
<p>Definitely talk to alumni, relatives, anyone; definitely get your extra-curriculars up to scratch, anything involving being in charge of a group - maybe National Guard for a year?... or, do some research, save lots of money, and get yourself on the same flight as John Mack as he goes from office to office :D</p>
<p>How much do you like your school? How badly do you want to work for the better companies?</p>
<p>It will be significantly less stressful to try to land internships and jobs at a company that recruits from your school. If you are set on getting a job for a company that doesn't recruit from your school--and it's a competitive job--you should think of transfering.</p>
<p>Keep up your GPA and transfer to a school that gives you better opportunities. </p>
<p>If the company choice isn't that big of a deal and/or you love your school too much to leave and/or you don't mind trying really hard to land a job at a company that doesn't directly recruit at your school, then stay.</p>
<p>Are you planning on going back home for the summer? You can also try the major companies in your hometown, which may be more flexible about your college in hope of landing you as a full-time employee upon graduation. When I was in school, my family lived in a small town without great opportunities, so I spent a summer living with my aunt to be able to work at a great job.</p>
<p>if you're like me and the career center of your school is worthless(intern at a HORSE FARM? you kidding me?) you have to go out and make the opportunities yourself. I walked into the office of the branch manager of my towns Merrill Lynch and told him I wanted to work out an internship and through tenacity and his generosity I made it happen.</p>
<p>The internship wasn't glamorous and doesn't compare to working on Wall St. but it gave me some first-hand experience in finance and something decent to put on my resume. No one else at my school, that I know of, has that kind of experience and I never would have been able to land it without going out there and doing it on my own.</p>
<p>We've had internship searching success on this site especially for enviornmental and socially responsible type programs </p>
<p>[url=<a href="http://www.idealist.org/if/as/Internship%5DIdealist.org%5B/url">http://www.idealist.org/if/as/Internship]Idealist.org[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Another way to land a good internship is networking with professors. This summer before i went to school i solicited a bunch of business professors and somehow ended up with a very high ranking one. I researched for him in the summer and the first semester. Now, I have a good relationship with him which will allow me to get better work opportunities down the road through his connections.</p>
<p>The Internship Bible, published by the Princeton Review should be helpfull</p>