<p>I submitted an online application over the weekend for an internship for a large company. Today, I already got my rejection email. Is it more likely that the position is already filled, or does my application actually that much of an eyesore? My GPA is 3.5ish, and I've done research throughout my undergrad years. I'm junior in chem e.</p>
<p>Also, my friend got turned down by Boeing, but his friend, who's equally qualified as him, got an internship. what's the deal?</p>
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<p>btw. I'm an international student, so I had to answer "YES" to that "do you or will you require visa sponsorship blah blah" question</p>
<p>If it’s a large company, the position was likely not filled as they will have multiple for a given major. They either rejected you on GPA, major, school, or for sponsorship reasons. You’ll also get auto rejected if you did something like list an interest in pharmaceuticals in an objective that you submitted to a paper manufacturing company.</p>
<p>The most likely scenario is probably sponsorship. If the company doesn’t project to have visas available when you graduate, then it’s not really in their interest to bring you in for just a summer.</p>
<p>would it be a logical assumption that there’s probably no large company that’s willing to hire international students this year? will I have better chance with smaller companies?</p>
<p>can you also explain why some companies seem to take certain people, and reject others with the same qualifications on paper? As I said, my friend didn’t even get an interview, but his friend got an offer for an internship. Meanwhile, when I spoke to one particular company at our career fair, they told me they don’t hire international students. But my friend, who’s international student, managed to get an interview.</p>
<p>Is it just these small things like networking, looking professional, following up, applying early, etc. that make the difference between an offer and no offer? I can’t imagine that they would actually remember all the people they talk to. I think they just look for something in the cover letter that tells them, ‘ah, they put effort into networking with our company representatives’ so this person stands a better chance of moving on in the application process.</p>
<p>At my school it seems like the oilfield service companies are the main companies that will sponsor international students that are just getting their BS and not masters (my school is pretty heavy oil/gas though and not that high ranked, but it tends to be company policies when it comes to sponsoring international students). You might do better off if any companies have internships in your home country too, I don’t know your exact situation though. You would probably have to apply on a different application then too.</p>
<p>I can’t speak to any specific situation, but with regards to resumes the biggest thing people miss is demonstrated fit. Companies don’t want the student with the best experience and GPA, they want the student with the best experience and GPA that would enjoy working for their company (and would stick around for 10 years).</p>
<p>Students seem to forget this. They’ll send a resume with a very generic objective “Seeking a position as an electrical engineer that allows me to expand my knowledge of the field and allows me to use my knowledge to further the company.” If I’m hiring for a telecom company and I see that objective followed by no telecom experience or clubs, I’m going to throw away the resume. The same student with the same GPA and same experience who has “Seeking a position as an electrical engineer in the telecom industry that allows me to expand my knowledge of the field and allows me to use my knowledge to further the company” might get an interview. It’s still a very weak objective, but at least it shows an interest in the industry.</p>
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<p>I’m not sure of that person’s situation. Many companies do not ask if you need sponsorship until the interview, so maybe they don’t know that he needs sponsorship. Or maybe he’s interviewing for a non-US position with that company. There are all sorts of situations. In addition, there are some companies that sponsor, but only really exceptional students. They generally advertise that they do not sponsor to keep down the number of applicants (when you go onto a campus and tell people you will sponsor, you literally get thousands of applications from international students of all different majors and levels - PhD’s will apply for BS positions).</p>
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<p>You would be surprised. Most companies track who comes to events. When looking at who to interview, the amount of interest you’ve shown in a company can have a major impact on whether or not they offer an interview (it goes to fit which I mentioned above).</p>
<p>in other words, the only chance I have for internships are companies that don’t prioritize holding on to their interns for full time employment, which seems to be the norm with all the companies I’ve seen this year. </p>