<p>I'm going to be graduating next year and so far I have not have not had an internship. I've applied every so far to multiple internships and have never gotten one. This year has been going the best so far because I've had three interviews so far, while in previous years I've never made it to the interview stage of the process. However, out of three interviews I've already received one rejection.</p>
<p>my mood towards grad school changes daily and assuming I end up not making it to grad school, what would I tell employers next year if I apply for jobs and they ask why I've never had an internship before?</p>
<p>Have you had any jobs at all? Do you have any leadership experience on campus? Have you done any research on campus?</p>
<p>A resume should contain more than a laundry list of internships if you want to convey that you are a well rounded applicant. I had a lot of trouble finding a job without having any internships under my belt, but waiting tables for four summers (and two years before that) was good enough to show what kind of applicant I was!</p>
<p>I mostly spend my summers working for my mom. She is an office manager for my dad, who is a doctor. I’ve done some secretarial work, such as answer phones, take people weight and height and then put them in a room, insurance eligibility checks, scanning. I also do IT work for my parents, and maintain all their computers. I’ve been doing that for a long time.</p>
<p>The one leadership experience I’ve had, which I’m not really sure I would call it a leadership experience, is that I’ve played drums in a jazz band for 3 years. Its more a team effort. We’re “endorsed” by the school, but unlike the official jazz band, we don’t have a leader/someone in the music department tell us what to play. We decide on our own. </p>
<p>I have one summer of research experience in a physics lab. That experience actually helped me land an interview this year, but I ended up getting rejected in the end. I stopped doing physics work and mostly switched to math. I did two independent studies with a professor and I currently have an informal thing going with another professor, its kind of like an independent study, but I’m not doing it for credit. </p>
<p>All of this stuff is on my resume, but I’m just not getting anywhere…</p>
<p>I know where you are coming from. Have you had an adviser critique your resume? It is crucial to include information in a way that is very easily accessible to recruiters.</p>
<p>As a guide, my resume writing technique is this…</p>
<ul>
<li>Keep it to one page, no exceptions for a resume (as opposed to a CV)</li>
<li>Academic information should be the first thing listed; include your GPA, your major, any applicable minors and any applicable concentrations</li>
<li>Work experience should be listed along with research experience but separately from activities</li>
<li>Limit explanations of your experience to four bullet points and no more than one line per bullet point; if you cannot do this, figure out how to do it, as it is highly unlikely that you will have more than four bits of experience</li>
<li>Your resume should be flattering, so anything that you think is “fluff” has no place in your resume</li>
</ul>
<p>If you’d like, I could take a look at your resume as well.</p>