<p>So I'm a biomedical engineer and I'm looking for an internship in the industry. I've applied for 2 so far, but got turned down for both, not even moving on to the interview stage. I attend Duke, so I know that these internships are competitive. But I feel like my GPA and extracurriculars put me in a position to be competitive. I'm starting to feel a little discouraged, and am wondering if there's any tips you guys have. </p>
<p>Should I focus more on my cover letter? Send a transcript? Etc.</p>
<p>You’ve applied to 2 internships and are already about to give up?
I have no idea how competitive these things are, but if they are as finance internships , you should at a minimum be applying to 30-50 of them. Seriously, if it’s something you’d even consider doing, apply to it.
You need the interview experience.</p>
<p>Also, are these on campus interviews? If they’re online applications (i.e. through the company website, they might not even read them).</p>
<p>Yes, have a great cover letter and a flawless resume.
No, most people probably don’t read cover letters but they one that does will **** you over.</p>
<p>Keep your chin up, make sure you are utilizing all the resources that Duke has to offer: Clubs within your major, networking opportunites, social mixers with engineering firms, interview workshops, etc. etc. I’m betting that you are not as involved and proactive as you need to be…</p>
<p>^^ if you are just submitting a resume, it takes 30 seconds to click on a job posting and click submit resume.
Even if you are submitting a cover letter, it should only take you a few minutes to edit a few details and personalize it a bit.
In this case, it should take a max of 5 minutes per job.</p>
<p>5 minutes * 50 = 4 hours and 10 minutes.
Hardly a significant effort.</p>