All the secrets to streamlining your insane internship search process

‘Tis the season for job and internship searches.

Which means you may find yourself spending countless hours of precious winter break time looking through search engines and writing cover letters. But after speaking with some Penn State graduates and current students who have had their own internships, we found there might be a better ways to tackle the process. They shared their best advice on the best methods to score that coveted internship or job offer.

Be yourself, be confident and be driven

“Sometimes it doesn’t matter what’s on your resumé, if you can show you are eager to learn and a hardworking individual the world is yours,” says Abigail Goncar, a sophomore who has interned with Armada Supply Chain Solutions, where she managed freight for Chipotle and Chick-fil-a.

“Go in with a mindset that they’re going to do more than expected,” says Reed Preziosi, a Penn State graduate who interned at Merrill Lynch. He also said that its about being yourself. He recommends taking the extra step to look up the company and learn about their missions and values. According to Reed, it’s also important to remember these skills once you’re at an internship or job opportunity.

Brand yourself

“Branding yourself is the most effective ingredient to getting a job,” says Reed.

“I have branded myself as someone who’s not afraid of a challenge,” Abigail agrees. She says that the way she branded herself online and in her application materials has led to her internship, two co-op offers and helped secure another internship with one of the largest steel companies in the country for summer 2017.

Terron Graham, a senior majoring in Risk Management, says “this is something people on the job search don’t realize. Branding is incredibly important.” Terron wanted to brand himself as “someone who is confident, willing to participate in volunteerism and competent in his work.”

Attend career workshops and get involved in career groups

Reed recalls that during his sophomore year he went to numerous career workshops. He also joined the Penn State’s Nittany Lion Career Group, a free network for Penn State students to find careers.  Through these networks, he has made many connections and received in-person interviews.

Terron says he joined a program called Inroads, which provided him with interviewing skills, and other helpful advice. Abigail says she actually taught herself how to do a professional interview and pushed herself to go to job fairs as a freshmen to get an internship. “Even if you have never heard half of the industry jargon used on the job, if you show you have the key skills the company is looking for, than sometimes that is the most important thing,” she explains.