<p>I'll be starting my sophomore year in EE and I live in California. How do I go about looking for and getting an internship. My school holds a large career fair in fall, but is there anything I can do before that?
Summer is wasting away, and I want to at least find a few places I can apply to.</p>
<p>An internship for during the academic year, or an internship for next summer?</p>
<p>I can almost guarantee that if you're talking about an internship for next summer, most of the companies aren't even going to start thinking about next summer's interns for at least a few months... <em>This</em> summer's interns haven't even left yet!</p>
<p>You're better off asking your school's placement office or your professors about this. They should know first hand what companies in the area frequently hire interns from your school.</p>
<p>Your school might release a list of companies coming to your Fall Career Fair...at least mine did. Take a look at the list, check out their websites, and make your own lists for companies that interests you so on your Career Fair Day, it'll be a breeze.</p>
<p>I think I've seen you around the UCLA subforum, so I assume you attend the school.</p>
<p>Do attend the engineering technical career fair, and have your resume ready. Do prepare beforehand, research which companies will be there (and ones you are interested in).</p>
<p>If you feel like you don't want to waste time, submit your application online beforehand; you can find the exact procedures by searching online.</p>
<p>At the career fair, introduce yourself and hand in your resume. This step won't make or break you. Try to stand out to the recruiter though, by mentioning your unique interest, experiences, and learn about the role(s) of an intern/entry level hire in the comapny.</p>
<p>My advice is not to just hand in a resume, say hi, and leave.
The resume will be scanned into the corporate system (assuming the recruiter accepts resumes at the fair). The most important advice here is to include keywords that will match what you are doing. When hiring managers look to hire interns, they will run a scan for specific keywords of what they are looking for, and keep the resumes that have the words (throwing away the rest).</p>
<p>I don't have time to type out the rest of the details, but you get the point I hope.</p>
<p>Networking is key. The more you know about a company, its products, and its culture, the better your chances are. Otherwise you'll just be another entry in a database. Networking will, as the adage goes, "Get your foot at the door", but it is up to you to "walk through the door" by showing off what you have to offer. </p>
<p>I'm sure there are tons of info. sessions from companies at UCLA, especially in the EE department--those are best way to meet managers, lead engineers, .etc on a one-on-one basis.</p>
<p>hey BoelterHall </p>
<p>if you get time later could you mention some of these key words? I'm sure it'll be helpful for many of us here.</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>^I think the keywords vary by field particularly the position you're applying for.</p>
<p>I agree with easternboarder too. There are two ways to get the internship:</p>
<ol>
<li>being bright (grades, coursework) & having genuine interest in the field</li>
<li>networking</li>
</ol>
<p>Networking triumphs over the first point sadly. People who know how to get in internally steal a lot of jobs/positions, thought they are not necessarily the most qualified candidate. So take some time to get to know people - especially college recruiters or anyone high on the organization chart. Get to know them is not just trading business cards, but keep in touch with them and let them know you are genuinely interested ( and qualified).</p>
<p>For the first point, you can enhance you chances by going to the info sessions, talking directly with the recruiters (who play an important role in setting you up with the hiring manager). The last important thing is within yourself - - have confidence and present yourself well in your resume/cover letter.</p>
<p>These will help you "get your feet wet" or "get your feet in the door".</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is the part that I'm most concerned about. Starting this year, I will be a sophomore so its not like I know very much about EE (my major). And whatever I do know isn't unique. So I'm guessing companies don't really care too much about what we know.</p>
<p>What are some things that we should tell them? I'm thinking of talking about my involvement with an on-campus engineering related club, a couple of projects I've independently pursued, and possibly try to show genuine interest in the company(ies) by talking about some of their products/services, and how I love them so much... lol?</p>
<p>Imo, i would try to ask questions other than about their products and services, you should really be able to find most of that out on your own and most of the other people interviewing will be asking questions like that. For instance, if you like working in more challenging environments, ask them about what their expectations are of their interns and tell them what you are looking for. Also, most companies like to know that if they make you an offer to come work for them down the road, that you will likely take it since they're investing in you. So you can ask some questions about career's with the company and things like that.</p>
<p>I had a similar experience as a sophomore in EE looking for a summer internship. The only remotely relevant professional experience I had was working in retail for that summer. </p>
<p>Trying to find a position was difficult at times--I would do on-campus interviews with countless companies (Exxon, IBM, Caterpillar, etc) and then not hear back. Fortunately I was able to find a position at a defense company this summer.</p>
<p>What I've learned from my experience trying to get hired for an internship and participating in one is:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Getting hired, even as a summer intern, depends on the economy. Fortunately for me, the defense industry is doing pretty good right now. Now the same can't be said about the financial sector--most of my friends in business-related majors have had trouble in this regard. I have heard that allegedly, firms like Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers "cut back" on their summer internship programs. </p></li>
<li><p>Companies seeking engineering interns are generally looking for future-hires. An engineering intern is basically a low-level employee with well, technical knowledge. Some interns end up doing nothing at all other than making copies or making spreadsheets. After all, it can be a waste of time to train an intern who will only be working at a company for a summer. Bear in mind that internship programs boost public relations for a company. In the case of defense companies, sometimes internship programs are merely part of the overhead from a government contract to prevent underspending. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Now this doesn't mean that you won't be doing anything important or meaningful. But when push comes to shove, students with technical experience and/or the ability to quickly learn and pick up things are the most sought after. While other qualities such as leadership skills are important for any individual seeking to advance one's career, they're of little significance for a summer engineering intern.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Networking triumphs over the first point sadly. People who know how to get in internally steal a lot of jobs/positions, thought they are not necessarily the most qualified candidate. So take some time to get to know people - especially college recruiters or anyone high on the organization chart. Get to know them is not just trading business cards, but keep in touch with them and let them know you are genuinely interested ( and qualified).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Get to know upperclassmen too. Not only will you find out if a company is good to work for or not, but some companies ask their interns to help find more students to hire for internships. They also tend to be more frank about their experiences.</p>
<p>You can work on making connections.
I'm a high schooler, but I did an internship at a national laboratory this past summer. Not only did it give valuable experience (and something nice to add to my resume!), but I built many connections and I know that I can always go back to Lawrence Livermore for a summer internship.</p>
<p>What is the difference between an internship and co-op</p>
<p>Where I work there is really no difference between a co-op and an internship, except their schedule - interns go to school in spring and fall and intern during the summer. A co-op alternates between school and work, so it takes longer to graduate but they also get more experience in. </p>
<p>As for how to get an internship, my D didn't get much out of the career fairs at her school - a few students would 'hog' the recruiters attention and the others standing in line never got a chance. </p>
<p>But she did look on line and found that she could register to receive an automatic email from the company she was interested in when they posted an internship position containing her given 'keywords'. Just as her soph year was ending, she received an auto-email, immediately replied, had a phone interview a few days later and got the job. It helped that she has also had outstanding grades in college and, while she didn't cure cancer or win national or even regional awards, her resume shows a keen interest in engineering going back to Jr. High.</p>
<p>Also, altho her school isn't top tier by a long shot, the company, which is in the same region, recruits from it a lot. So I think location makes a difference.</p>