Internships are a must these days.

Internships are becoming the best way to strengthen your job prospects.  With statistics showing high rates ofunemployment and underemployment (in other words, you have a degree and you’re working in a job that doesn’t require one) for recent college grads, a key way to distinguish yourself in the job market, beyond pursuing an in-demand field is to get relevant experience.  Interning is a great way to do this.

3 Steps to an Internship Game Plan

I highly recommend the book, All Work, No Pay, to help you get an internship game plan, but here are some brief steps you need to take:

1. Search-  You need to start your search about 6 months before you want to start interning, if not more.  So, for example, if you want to intern in the spring semester, you need to begin your search at the beginning of the fall semester. If you are in college, start first with your college career center.  They more than likely have employers that frequently source interns through them.  I found my internship in college through the on-campus career center.

• Search for internships in your field.  Some great sites that allow you to search by industry areinternqueen.com, and internmatch.com.
•  Search by the geographic area you are interested in.  Both of the above sites have ways to search by city and state. You can also do a Google search for internships in that area.  For example, we recently worked with a student who was interested in the music industry and realized Nashville was a good place to consider job opportunities in this field.  We referred her to the Chamber of Commerce site in Nashville to search for internship opportunities.   The Chamber of Commerce site in the area is usually a good place to start a geographic-based internship search.
• Search by your dream company.   Want to get a job at ESPN in sports broadcasting?  One of our recent students did.   We recommended she try to get her foot in the door by interning with the sports broadcasting giant.  Go directly to your dream company’s website to search for internship opportunities.

2. Apply- You will need a great resume and cover letter do this and you may be asked to submit work samples depending on the field you are pursuing.  Again, your campus career center should be able to help you with your resume and can usually provide assistance in reading through or organizing work samples.  Make sure you get other people to review and critique anything you are going to submit. Here’s a worksheet you can download to help you make sure your resume is results oriented.

3. Knock their socks off!- You knock their socks off, in an interview and/or through the materials you submit to them, by:

• Expressing true excitement about the opportunity.  You are better equipped to do this if you have already researched the company and have truly assessed your talents, passions and values to understand how they align with the company’s mission and values.
• Being willing to do whatever it takes to do a good job and learn as much as you can.   Selection for internships spots, unlike full-time openings, is more about the will (or desire) to do the job than the skill (experience) you have.

What advice do you have for people wanting to land an internship?