<p>I know NOW is the time to secure an internship to supplement my coursework, but I have absolutely NO work experience ever since high school, and I'm a junior. I know that my case is extremely bad because it feels like I'm digging myself into a hole with this no-employment gap on my resume. I'm also not in any clubs, so that makes matters worse because my resume comes out to be VERY empty. I've been looking online for things to apply for, but they seem to want some kind of relevant work experience, in which I do not have. The only things I have that aren't valued as much as work experience are stellar grades. I think one important thing to note is that I have severe social anxiety, and this is the reason for why I'm not active at all. It's very hard for me to interact with people, but at the same time I want to get over this by working with people. With all that said, I guess my question is, what are some steps I should take?</p>
<p>Have you gone to your career center? Your grades are a plus, so let those stand out. You don’t have to be a social butterfly for engineering. But, you do need to talk to employers, etc. Take one step at a time. Practice your social skills with classmates, where you live, etc. I don’t think it will be as hard as you think to get an internship, especially with your grades. I have heard the graduates with the best luck landing jobs right now are engineers. You are probably in better shape than you know. Another suggestion is to see if there are any organizations that interest you and join. You can participate as much as you want, but it is a starting point. Does your school offer a Co-op Program? You may want to look into that.</p>
<p>I truly think you should look into something like toastmasters to work on that social anxiety. I used to get extremely nervous with any type of public speaking and after a month or two of TM, I still get a bit nervous, but you couldn’t tell by looking at me. A lot of campus’s have them, however if you are not comfortable going up in front of a lot of people your age, you can join a group out in town, which are normally filled with an older, and less intimidating crowd.</p>
<p>That’s a good suggestion. But, typically social anxiety is more than a fear of public speaking. It can make daily social interaction with peers, profs, etc., difficult. I would focus on social skills first so you can interact with prospective employers and co-workers. You can overcome this. If you have not already done so, since you say it is severe, you may want to try counseling for strategies and tools.</p>
<p>Join some kind of club or organization immediately. I’m sure you dread the idea of that, but there is only one way to get over social anxiety, and it isn’t by hiding from people.</p>
<p>Talk with all the professors you can, and find out what kind of research they are doing. Volunteer to help for free. If you have Work Study, they might do that too.</p>
<p>You’re not the first engineer who isn’t a social butterfly - take some comfort in that. There are many very quiet engineers, and they manage to find work.</p>
<p>As noted above, do get some treatment for social anxiety, and learn the strategies for living with your kind of mindset. You’re far from unique.</p>
<p>Then apply the strategies, under the guidance of a professional. It may seem hard or strange at first, but you’ll gradually learn how, a step at a time, to use these tactics, even if some of them may always make you feel a little uncomfortable.</p>
<p>Your first job could be part-time on campus, volunteering in a prof’s lab, or a full-time summer internship on campus. You don’t have to follow the traditional path, just one that eventually gets you where you want to go. (For example, if you take a year after graduation and work for a prof, that means an extra year before working in industry. So what.)</p>
<p>And don’t give up on a traditional internship, if you think you’re ready for it. Some employer may decide that they are more interested in your background than the other kid, who has lower grades, plus two years experience scooping ice cream in the summers.</p>
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<p>That reminds me of the joke: How can you tell when an engineer is an extrovert? He looks at your shoes during a conversation, and not his own. (truth be told, the original joke was about accountants).</p>
<p>^hahahaha, I like that one.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your replies. So far, I have applied to tutor (which I have not heard back yet, but it is a first step in giving me an opportunity to interact with people), and 1 - 2 internships/co-op jobs for summer 2013, which do not require letters of recommendations. The letters are another problem because I know that most jobs would require me to have at least one or two letters of rec. I have not spoken to any of my professors during my three years here, for obvious reasons.
There have been a few career fairs / events where employers come in for information sessions, resume critique, etc., but I just can not go to them because of my anxiety. I know I’m missing out on a lot of opportunities and because of this, I feel trapped and unable to do anything. Everyone seems so competent (socially, at least), and I’m just so scared of the future.</p>
<p>It sounds like you need some flood therapy, in a controlled environment. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think it would be a really good idea for you to visit your schools counseling dept. Let them set up in-session and out of session tasks/ideas to help you overcome this. You need someone to be accountable to or your anxiety will overcome your will power every time.</p>
<p>Apply to a lot more internships </p>
<p>Call up companies directly and talk to HR</p>
<p>I don’t think I’ve ever run into an internship requiring a letter of recommendation so you might just be unlucky</p>
<p>I’m not an expert by any means on this subject, but I have a few suggestions. 1. Go to your counseling center at school. Some schools have free or very low cost sessions available with Psychologists on a walk-in and/or appointment basis. You can then set up bi-monthly sessions. 2. Start by taking small steps. Think of a question to ask a Prof and ask after class one day. It could be a question from lecture or something on a test. It may even be something you already know, but it will give you some practice speaking to Profs. Try to keep doing this. It will become easier the more you do it. Ask people that you sit near in class questions as a way to initiate conversation. Don’t worry if the conversation doesn’t go far. It’s practicing that counts. There are many people with this issue, so you are not alone. Dealing with the social anxiety is more important than the getting an internship, imo. But, both can be worked on at the same time.</p>
<p>Somehow my post #10 was dated yesterday, but I actually posted it today, Oct. 2, after 9:43 am and after post #13. Never had that happen before. Strange!</p>