Getting internships without prior internships/work experience?

<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>I'll be entering my first year of college this fall but I'm already worried about not being able to find decent internships for next summer. I was very active in HS but more along the linesof community service and heavy involvement/leadership in clubs. Never worked an actual job or internship.</p>

<p>Does anyone have any tips for me? What assets should I focus on when marketing myself? I'm an IR major but am also interested in consultancy, politics, economics, and social policy.</p>

<p>Thanks for your help! Really appreciate it.</p>

<p>Well, you can definitely market any leadership you’ve had in your community service and clubs. That’s always a positive thing. Showcase how you can work effectively with people. </p>

<p>Other than that, good GPA, maybe put your SAT score if it was really high, and you should be as set as you can be given your situation.</p>

<p>Just don’t be picky with applying. You should accept most things that come your way even if its a little inconvenient. Once you complete at least one internship, you can afford to be a little more picky.</p>

<p>Make sure you visit your school’s Career Center as soon as possible to familiarize yourselve with what they offer. Go to career/job fair and sign up to interview for any summer jobs/internships. Also be proactive with internet search. Many big companies accept summer intern applications on-line so look for those. Work hard, not picky and you will be OK.</p>

<p>If you are interested in politics work on a campaign next summer. Most campaigns will be more then willing to bring on a freshman as an intern. If you are hard working and diligent you will most likely pick up a lot of experience and responsibility quickly. The internship will teach you a lot and serve as a stepping stone to better internships and jobs with the network you will have access to.</p>

<p>another option (if you have it) is connections that you/your family has. I’m a freshman right now (though I’m ou tof here in a week, oh god), and my resume was sent out to a lot of connections my family has (like patients of my dad and stuff) that could use an intern for a summer. Since someone at all of those places knows me (semi)personally I have a lot better chance of landing the internship.</p>

<p>These tips are great, thanks a lot! Gotta get cracking…</p>

<p>Definitely keep the gpa up. Many internships my S saw and/or applied for required a minimum gpa of 3.0.</p>

<p>Get a real job this summer, even if it’s as a waiter or cashier at the mall. You’ll

  1. get work experience that will help when you apply for internships
  2. earn spending money for college</p>

<p>Get a part-time job during the spring semester - even if it’s only five to ten hours.</p>