<p>I am going to be a freshmen this upcoming school year in college. I have been reading a lot of threads related to finding internships and such. Some say college fairs, others say networking (how do you even do that?), and others say internet applications. It is unlikely that I will get any offers in my freshmen year, so for future knowledge, what's the best way? </p>
<p>PS. Some companies that I see myself working for don't usually come to my school's college fair (after checking the employer catalogue of our most recent fair), so is Internet applications the only way to get jobs from them. I have heard people say after hundreds of applications to different companies, they usually get only one or two offers. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Networking is the absolute best way to land jobs, just have to keep your ears open and be willing to be creative/have patience.
2 examples:</p>
<p>-I met another student in my Calc II class. We became friendly acquaintances. Ended up being lab partners in our circuits class a year later even though we were pursuing different majors. We got to know each other a lot better over the course of that semester. At this point, he had worked (and was continuing to work) at a local company as an intern. He had gotten the summer job through the school’s engineering internship program office. About 4 months after that circuits class he said the company he was at was going have an opening soon, but weren’t going to post it anywhere. I said I’d be interested if I couldn’t find anything on my own. I found nothing on my own, so I called him back. I’ve been interning at that company for nearly a year now.</p>
<p>-The best friend I have in my major also has been unable to find anything on his own, until about a month ago he was offered a chance to work on the business side of a local sat-com company with the understanding that when an engineering position opens up, he gets first dibs as an internal hire. This opportunity came about while he was explaining the cool engineering projects he was involved in at school in casual conversation to his girlfriend’s younger sister’s boyfriend’s dad… who just happens to be a VP at said company.</p>
<p>Point is, you never know when you’ll make a positive impression on the right people at the right time. So do well in school, participate in projects/groups/hobbies you’re passionate about. Eventually you’ll just kind of luck into these things.</p>
<p>Absolutely try for a internship next summer. You will either get a position (rare for freshman) or get practice on the process. Definitely attend the college job fairs - you will learn a lot even if you don’t happen to get a good job lead. </p>
<p>Check with career services at your school. They should be getting notices of available internships and other summer positions. Also, check if your department has someone who coordinates internships and coops.</p>
<p>I know someone who found out that his scoutmaster worked in a field that interested him. He talked to the scoutmaster, who gave him a professor’s name at a university. He eventually got a summer job as a HS student working for the professor. A couple years later, he got an internship at the company that the scoutmaster worked at. As in the previous post, talk to people about their jobs. You never know when an opportunity might spring up.</p>
<p>They say it is not what you know but who you know, and in my experience that is very true. Networking (i.e. meeting people at career fairs, in your classes, professors, etc.) is probably your best bet. Companies don’t always post job openings online but instead spread the word mouth to mouth and people who hear about it through the grapevine are the ones who apply. I got my first internship in the summer before my junior year because I knew someone who worked at the company and now I have a full time job with them.</p>
<p>It is never to early to start applying for internships. It will be a good experience for you even as a freshman.</p>
<p>I will have no GPA before January, but I see some people say the best way to get Internships through career fairs are during September/October. How can I work around this, or is it the same applying for Internships later in the Year such as Jan/Feb?</p>
<p>Fall career fairs can help you learn about opportunities. make contacts, just see how it all works. Applications could be sent later. Also, there may be a 2nd job fair in the spring. </p>
<p>Students from less well known or remote schools that do not get a huge variety of visiting recruiters have to hustle and be creative. Be assertive and make your first impression your best impression when networking. For example, one of Lake Jr.'s friends attends every donor ceremony or guest lecture at his college hoping for a chance to greet and meet a possible employer. The whippersnapper was in line at a groundbreaking when the honored guest was the alum who gave the largest $$ gift for a new engineering building on campus. Turns out that the donor is the president of a major engineering & technology firm. You never know.</p>
<p>Unless if you have serious connections, don’t expect to get an internship as a freshman. I learned that the hard way. Granted, some of the HR recruiters and employees know me, but I was not hired after having four interviews for different companies. </p>
<p>One of them, a hydraulics laboratory, had to reject me because I only had my driver’s license for two years and their insurance policy requires all employees to have at least three years of driver’s license. The laboratory’s buildings were spread out across the campus, and they required all employees to be able to transport equipments and supplies using university vehicles.</p>
<p>I know a friend who made it to the final rounds of interviewing, and someone else who was on academic probation got the position instead because the person’s father was a senior manager of the company.</p>
<p>EDIT: Don’t bother with internet applications. Use those time to learn about the company and meet them in person.</p>
<p>Career fairs are a good way to go, but don’t expect to get it right on the first time - the skills required to show yourself to be a good employee (resume, dress, speaking skills, controlling nerves, interview skills) seldom if ever come on the first try.</p>
<p>Alternatively, you can try having a minority status (females and other minorities get a boost in career fairs) or nepotism (“networking”). Large companies have legal requirements to meet, and if you’re a person who likes social events, you can always make a fair number of contacts by going to career-related ones in your field. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that a summer without an internship need not be wasted - having an internship on your resume isn’t necessarily more marketable than anything else you can do, as long as you’re good at justifying the importance of what you did. Not that you shouldn’t try, but make sure you have a backup plan that is meaningful enough.</p>
<p>Often, nepotism is a substitute for not being able to find an internship on your own merits. In the long run, you will have to show yourself to be qualified, so I’m not a fan of that.</p>
<p>Call it nepotism if you like, but I didn’t even get so much as an interview for local aerospace internships this summer, some industries are much harder to break into if you’re limited to a geographic region. Believe me if I were just in this for the easy employment/money I’d major in CS, go into cyber security and/or big data and call it a day.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, nepotism does exist. My friend at the satellite communications company took pictures of a VP’s son (also an intern) that sits in the cubicle next to his. Throughout an 8 hour day that guy:
-Slept ~30 minutes
-Played minecraft -3 hours
-Took two personal phone calls ~1 hour
-Surfed the internet ~2 hours
-Left for 1.5 hours (assumed lunch)</p>
<p>The first career fair is three days after School starts. Do you guys feel that it would be too early for me to attend? Im really nervous and engaging in something that big only a day after classes start may cause my nervous system to collapse.</p>
<p>Of course it’s not too early. Go for the experience/practice. Ask the recruiters what they are looking for in a candidate. Ask if they would recommend any classes, etc, that would help your chances. Make sure to write down the name/company (or save business cards) for each recruiter. Put together a basic resume (it will look a lot like your college application, at this point…).</p>
<p>Think of it as research and a first dry run and try to have some fun with it.</p>
<p>It is difficult for freshmen to get internships, unless they have some family connections which can lead to a position, or are already particularly strong in programming. If you have any connections to companies which hire engineers, try to network with those connections to get any leads. You might have better luck getting involved with a research project with a professor on campus during the summer.</p>
<p>^ That is what I was thinking. I come from a really low income immigrant family, we have no connections here.
Im lucky that generous aid is being given to me or else I would never see myself in college. I will see what happens, thanks to everyone who replied, you opened my eyes a bit about the subject. </p>
<p>What University do you attend? Given your situation, I suggest again to try hard to find a summer position on campus working with a professor on research. Try to make connections with any of your professors, ask your advisor, read the web pages of the professors and see what areas interest you and approach the professor. Many Universities provide (low) paid summer research internships to their students. Depending on your school, the odds of getting a paid on-campus research internship would be much higher than finding a company internship after freshman year. </p>
<p>I am going to my state flagship school, Rutgers University. It isn’t Ivy league material or anything, but I think its a good school, contrary to the belief of my high school peers.</p>