Hi guys, it looks like the summer is nearing its end but for summer/fall, are there any students here who obtained an ENGINEERING internship and could give some tips?
I’m a senior level overall, though only a junior (switched majors) in the BS of Computer Engineering program at Purdue University and I been using a two-resumes to apply to various internships and have been getting no responses or getting responses saying they are going to look at other candidates.
Is this normal? are the internships this hard to get? or is my resume bad? Should I disable all social media like Facebook that could potentially make me look bad? I feel like something is holding me back, but I don’t know what it is! Please help!
I would ask your university career office to review your resume and cover letter examples. Also, maybe you are looking in the wrong places. Some sources of leads:
- Obviously the university career office
- Any job fairs on campus.
- Ask your profs and older students if they have suggestions on where to apply
- Start looking in late fall, and use winter break to look as well.
- Target specific companies and watch their websites for internship postings.
- Always include a cover letter when given the option that is tailored to that position and company.
Don’t disable social media, but block general public searches from seeing more than basic info. Create a LinkedIn profile if you don’t already have one and start building a professional network of profs, fellow students, people you meet at conferences or any job you do land, parents of friends who work in your field, etc.
Very normal, though your resume might also be bad. 
Here’s what I wrote about summer internships (don’t know much about fall co-ops) on another thread:
"The thing about internships is that there are a metric crapton of engineering students, and only so many jobs. So you have to apply to more than a few, and you might have to compromise on what you want out of it, if your goal is to score one.
First, make sure your resume is up to par. Look up examples of engineering resumes online – plenty of colleges have samples and templates available. (https://www.engineering.cornell.edu/resources/career_services/students/resumes.cfm for example) Get it reviewed by the people on the EngineeringStudents subreddit and by your school’s career center. No typos; put your GPA* on it; use action words to start short phrases explaining what you achieved in past jobs or projects, etc.
Then use Indeed, Monster, any job site from your school, and career fairs to apply. DO NOT LIMIT YOURSELF. Apply to everything, everywhere. I have a very high GPA in ChemE, some unrelated work experience, research, and a decent amount of volunteering – and I applied to 20-25 internships with 2 interviews, 1 offer. And I got LUCKY! There are students who apply to 40, 50, 60 jobs without getting so much as a nibble."
I don’t know how many jobs you applied to this year, but increase it for the next cycle. Get your resume reviewed by the places mentioned in the quoted post (or I’d be willing to take a look at it later). Apply early (starting in August/September – my school’s career fair is that early, so if you wait you really lose out), apply everywhere, apply as much as you can.