Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hey all, I've been a reader of this forum for quite some time but this is my first post as a member
Long story short...got my associate's degree one year ago yesterday (!!) at 17, transferred in the fall, felt the school wasn't right so I took this spring semester off. I'll return to full-time study in the fall, but I spent a lot of time trying reeeallly hard to get an internship for this summer. I'm an econ major and I plan to declare finance or accounting as a double when I get back to school; CC GPA was 3.90 and last fall's 4-year school was 3.75. I read all the Forbes articles on writing cover letters, scoured Indeed, InternMatch, Internships dot com, etc., even Craigslist. I applied to about 30 positions, many of them through Taleo/ICMS web apps. And I got...
NOTHING!
One interview; it went pretty well, waiting to hear back. But I have to face the real possibility I won't be interning this summer.
I work as a journalist for a local newspaper, so I'll be busy with that all summer as well as taking time to kick back and prepare for the fall, but I'm worried about how this will affect me in the future. My bf (almost 23, accounting grad) didn't do internships and had trouble getting a job after college (he's currently doing temp work) and so I wanted to get ahead of the curve on that.
Next summer I'll have finished first semester of senior year. Is that too late? Am I doomed?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,727 posts, read 81,641,337 times
Reputation: 58065
It's not like you did anything wrong, but you can bet that there were many others applying for the same limited number of internships. Getting an internship is even more competitive than getting a job. More and more colleges and career advisers are telling people that internships are important to their future success. Ours are paid and we do about 20 every year, but literally get hundreds of applicants.
No you are certainly not doomed, you are already working at a newspaper building those references-which usually gets a job more than a degree.
As for the internships-they are not guaranteed, whoever told you internships are guaranteed, their info is out of date. I have applied for paid and UNPAID internships and I got nothing back aside from "we have already filled our intern positions"-and yes I applied. Let me state, even the bloody unpaid internships-UNPAID did not call me back. Landing an internship can be just as difficult as landing a job. That does not mean you stop applying for internships but know just because it is an "internship" does not mean it is guaranteed.
Internships can be hard to come by because it requires an employee of the company to take time to directly train you, which costs the company money in the grand scheme of things. Start networking.
What city do you live in? What's your major? Location makes a huge difference for major. Some industries are clustered around only a handful of cities.
As an example, chemical engineering and geography jobs are big in Houston and the gulf coast. A geography major would not get the same opportunities in the midwest at Detroit or Chicago.
You have a degree from CC and took the most recent semester off from the 4-yr school. You are in competition with people who are actively in 4-yr school or even grad school. Internships are an investment on the part of the employer. They can be picky, and they will be.
You seem like a very high achiever, which is great and exceptionally rare in someone your age. But you need to relax before you give yourself an ulcer before you're even legally able to drink. Keep up the journalism (IMO more impressive than an internship, as interns are typically given low-level grunt work). Go back to school. Try again next time.
It's no big deal. Just try to volunteer at least one day a week with a nonprofit related to something in your field. Honestly, I don't think most employers are going to be too enthused in hiring an intern that is only 18 years old and may graduate when they are 19. Especially if they are not really stable in terms of their school or major.
If you stick with accounting, I'd do a 5 year program where you end up with a master's in accounting. You'll get an extra year for an internship and you'll be CPA eligible.
Hey everyone - thanks for the input. I actually did have a couple of interviews since this posting (which actually was why I too busy to respond ). Unfortunately nothing's come of them as of yet, and one of them was particularly heartbreaking as the interview went great and the interviewer essentially told me I'd be hired for one of two positions that were offered - the next day, both of them had somehow "disappeared" :/
I'm still applying for temp work here and there, but I'm starting to think about some other options. What would you guys recommend for this summer? I did a bit of household/yard work for some neighbors and am thinking about trying to run with that for a bit. I'm not sure if there's anything I can do in my major; I asked my Church if they needed accounting help, but apparently they're all set.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
