Spring cleaning- Keys to an organized internship search!

Written on 10:30 AM by Xavier Career Development

The classic internship search: tirelessly staring at a computer screen, writing cover letter after cover letter, and crossing your fingers hoping for some sort of luck on the other side of the screen. It can get so old so quickly, and sometimes we end up not even remembering what positions or companies we have applied for! The key to a successful internship search is making sure to stay organized! By clearly laying out your goals, intentions, and seeing that those can become realities, the task of locking down a summer internship is no longer extremely daunting!

There are a few simple steps to organizing your internship search:
1.      Make a list of companies you want to target
2.      Find out if their internship opportunities are posted
3.      If yes, apply. If no, set up a “job alert”- meaning, making a note to come back to this later.
4.      Find contacts at each company, whether it is collecting email addresses or LinkedIn profiles!
5.      Reach out to express interest in the job or the company by sending a cover letter email with your resume attached
6.      Keep track of the dates of communication and follow up!

The first key to keeping your search organized is tracking. The simplest, and in my opinion the most efficient method, is to create an excel spreadsheet.




By labeling each column with specific titles:
I want to intern
Intern opportunity listed on company website
If yes, did you apply- list the date if so!
If no, did you create a “job alert”
List of contacts at company (or LinkedIn page)
Did you follow up? If yes, when?

This allows for a super easy cross off list that allows you to stay on top of your job or internship search! As long as you keep at it with a positive mindset, a fountain Coke, and work hard, your internship search will be over before you know it!

Wishing you the luck of the Irish,
Jenny Mendoza