<p>I apologize in advance if I ramble a bit in this post; I'm kind of nervous and agitated over the whole internship application process.</p>
<p>I recently found a small company whose field is exactly that which I'd like to do. I can't find more than what is posted on their website, but I'm guessing that they have less than fifty employees. Regardless, it's one of the more well-known companies in their field, and they have a solid reputation.</p>
<p>Since the company is so small, contacting those within is rather easy; I have on my desk the phone number and email address of the company president. Now, all I have to do is either write or call and inquire about possibly interning there this summer, right? Ehh, not so much. :)</p>
<p>I guess what I'd like are tips on how to go about doing this. I'm rather introverted, and the idea of calling unsolicited terrifies me. I have just finished the first half of What Color is Your Parachute?, and while it was helpful, it sort of scared me even more with the "you only make a first impression once" deal. I know that I can't hole up in the corner every time I need to go out and ask for something, and that I should work on this, but the prospects are scary. If you were me, what would you do? Or better yet, how would you start? I think taking baby steps at this point is probably best.</p>
<p>Smithiegr -- my daughter had an incredible international internship with a UN agency last summer. The agency web site makes it clear that they only take on grad students for internships, but my daughter is an undergrad, age 20, and a sophomore at the time she applied - she was the youngest intern there and given a tremendous level of responsibility. She had started out with the name and email address of someone who worked there (a friend's relative, whom she had never met before - but at least that gave her a way to introduce herself). She sent an email. When she got a response that was sort of a brush-off.... she sent a follow-up email emphasizing how seriously she wanted the internship (and emphasizing that she understood that all internships were unpaid and that she was willing to work for free.) </p>
<p>About a dozen years ago I changed careers. It started when I sent an email. I simply let the company owner know I was interested in a career change and that I was interested in working with them & why. They emailed back and were interested; they offered me a position that I was not comfortable with, so we kept on talking and when the time was right, I got the position that I wanted. </p>
<p>I love email. I too can feel shy about approaching strangers and asking for things, and when I was young I also read "What Color is Your Parachute" but felt too intimidated to follow its guidelines.... but that was back in ancient times (1970's) when communications had to be initiated by telephone. </p>
<p>Email is different. All kinds of high up, important people reply personally to their email. And there is no downside -- you don't have to feel embarrassed about bothering someone important, because the recipient will be glad it is a real inquiry and not a Nigerian scammer or an offer to sell diet pills. If the person doesn' t to respond, they can hit their delete key --- but usually they will feel it is easier and quicker to reply, even if it is to tell you that their business has no openings or is not interested.</p>
<p>All you have to do is be polite, and you are likely to get a polite response -- and at least in my experience, sometimes the answer is yes.</p>
<p>Is there someone you can roleplay with? Practice making the call with that person. You could start by just calling the company and explaining to whomever answers the phone that you are interested in an internship there and find out who the contact person is. I'll warn you that I advised someone to do that once and the person was put right through to the person in charge of hiring. That happens almost never, but have something ready to say. Then you can call the person in charge of hiring and simply tell them why you are interested in their company - have very concrete, substantive reasons that show you have researched them and know about them. If you don't have anyone to role play with, PM me and I'll do it.</p>
<p>Edited to add that you can also try the email route but at some point, you have to be able to talk to someone about the job and that is where you will need to practice to be confident.</p>
<p>You do need the phone skills but as the owner of a small company I would always prefer an email prior to a cold call. Send an email and state what you are interested in as far as an internship and what you are offering the company. Detail that you have researched the particular company and why you feel it is a good fit for you.
Say in your email that you will call to follow up.<br>
Then wait a few days in case they prefer to email you back. If you don't hear from the company, then make the call.</p>
<p>--Do as much research as you can on the company and it's key people. Google the CEO and other key people's bio's. See if you can find anything you have in common with them. This could be home town, schools, hobbies, anything. Read every interview they ever gave until you feel like you know them. Target the person you have something in common with if you find one.</p>
<p>--Understand the company's goals. Who their competition is. Who their investors are or if public, it's stock price and recent performance.</p>
<p>--Put all this info together and decide what you have to offer them.</p>
<p>--Compose an email telling them.Can you work for free? If so, make that clear.</p>
<p>--If you don't get a return email in 48 hours, follow up with a call.</p>