<p>My son has gone through the process of applying for a state department internship for the summer 2013. He applied in early fall, and in December he was interviewed for an unpaid internship at an American embassy overseas. In January he was offered the position pending the security clearance process. He applied for the security clearance including being fingerprinted in January/feb. In April he received an email that he had his interim security clearance and was made the final offer of the summer internship and advised to contact the bureau coordinator to establish a start date. He contacted them over a month ago and despite many emails to two different parties he has been unable to establish a start date . Its been a real roller coaster ride and the worst part is if this does not work out he will be coming home from college without another summer job or internship lined up. (I advised him to have a back up plan but.... ) </p>
<p>Has anyone else known of similar problems. Do you think there is still hope it will work out? If it does is a State Department internship worth what you have to go through to get one?</p>
<p>Oh I’ve been down this road before, haha. In spring 2010 I was an alternate for a summer position and I literally found out I got the internship three days before I needed to start to get the 10 weeks in. After the lengthy security process and everything. My biggest problem was that my letter came with guidance to email my bureau coordinator…but there was a big blank where her name and email were! Whoops!</p>
<p>Don’t panic! Your son is fine and he has this internship. What he really needs to do is get in touch with the internship coordinator at post or his supervisor there. (If it randomly happens to be US Embassy Rome or one of the US consulates in Italy, send me a private message)</p>
<p>This is how I resolved the situation. I emailed the general info email address on the Embassy’s webpage briefly explaining the situation and asking to be please be directed to the intern coordinator for the American / State Dept interns at post. Voila–my email got forwarded around to a few people and finally made it to the right inbox and I got a reply pretty promptly. You might just need to get in touch with the general internship office at State. You can also try calling the switchboard number at the embassy itself which would probably be the most direct way, but keep in mind it’s an international call ($). The internship coordinator is usually in HR, so you could try to just be connected to the HR main line at the embassy if the operator doesn’t have a direct contact for the internship coordinator on site.</p>
<p>I know it’s frustrating! Between the sequester slowing things down and a few hundred interns destined for dozens of posts around the world (juggling their security processes and so on), this happens. But definitely persevere and follow through–follow every lead until you talk to the right person. Also, it’s very important that he’s the one doing the communicating, especially with his future boss because at post, he’ll be treated like an entry level Foreign Service Officer nine times out of ten. It is absolutely worth it. The two embassy internships I did at State were two of the best summers of my life. I felt so independent, I learned so much, I got an amazing insight into the way our diplomatic process works, and I definitely have found it useful experience for future internships and jobs. </p>
<p>Good luck and hang in there!</p>
<p>I think that your kid has the internship. Sometimes, it is VERY difficult to get in contact with these types of people and get a start date. amplifiar842 gave really good info and advice, and I don’t have anything to say that contradicts any of it. I just wanted to be another voice of support here to let you know this (unfortunately) isn’t out of the norm for government internships.</p>
<p>The State Department does not work to hire its interns into permanent positions (though some get in), but you will get a lot of experience and be exposed to a lot.</p>
<p>background: I’ve done internships in 3 govt agencies and had an offer from the state department in DC (that I ultimately declined).</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice and encouragement. Knowing that this is not that unusual has relieved some of my concerns. My son did finally receive a friendly email from someone at the embassy, although not “the person” who has to finalize his start date. He is persistent and optimistic that it will work out.</p>
<p>Persistence is required! We went through this a couple of years ago while D1 was traveling overseas for study abroad. So getting the fingerprinting and interview steps done for the clearance was a big hassle; the time period from when the package arrived at our house and they wanted it returned was very short considering that she was halfway around the world. Getting that clearance is the biggest stumbling block, and it sounds like he has cleared that hurdle. Hopefully this person at the embassy he is emailing with will get him to the right person soon.</p>
<p>Just an update. Everything worked out and my son is settled and happy at his American embassy post. Thanks for all the info and encouragement.</p>
<p>Great news! Congratulations to your son! What year is he in college?</p>
<p>He will be a senior in the fall. double major International Relations , Political Science. Minor French.</p>