Though the freedom of summer seems far away, some students already know what they will be doing with their three-month vacation, and many others are scrambling to come up with plans of their own. For those in search of summer internships, Director of Career Resources Michael Sciola says it is not too late to land one.
“Now’s a perfect time to be looking,” Sciola said. “The key is for students, if they haven’t started looking yet, they need to start doing it.”
While some of the more competitive internships have earlier deadlines, Sciola said that there are still many opportunities to get valuable experience in fields from chemistry to theater.
“Being flexible in what you’re looking for is important,” Sciola said. “It’s not ABC Nightly News or nothing. Worst case scenario, if we can’t find you an internship, we could still get you some volunteer work. Even putting ten hours of volunteer work a week in at a museum is excellent.”
The process of looking for and getting an internship can be intimidating.
“The whole summer internship thing is really stressful,” said Tamar Greenspan ’06. “There are so many sites and books to look through, it’s really overwhelming to get started, and even after you find an internship, you still have to apply.”
The staff and resources at the Career Resource Center (CRC) can make the task appear much less daunting. They offer an easy-to-use website as well as a variety of guides to internships in general or in specific fields. They can also help students prepare resumes and cover letters to get their applications noticed.
When searching for an internship, the best place to start, according to Sciola, is the “MyCRC” link on the CRC website, www.wesleyan.edu/crc, which offers a searchable database of 6,700 to 6,800 internships in a wide range of fields.
“We’ve put a lot of resources into identifying and collecting internships specifically appropriate for liberal arts students,” Sciola said. “More often than not, students who have come to the CRC come away with too many opportunities. But like they say with the Connecticut Lottery, ‘you can’t win if you don’t play.’”
Sciola also suggests utilizing the many resources available in the CRC library, including various books of internship contacts and the “Wesleyan Summer Experience Network,” a collection of recommendations from students about past summer jobs or internships.
Students can also make appointments or take advantage of drop-in hours to speak with the CRC staff.
“The staff is here to figure out what you are interested in, guide you through resources, and help you prepare,” Sciola said.
Sciola said students often ask him how many internships they should apply for.
“Think about how much time you have in a week to work on applications, and apply to as many as you can in that time,” he said.
Students often do not realize the resources they have at their fingertips. Celeste Simon ’06, who was using the online internship catalog for the first time, said she had a vague idea of what the CRC had to offer, but never realized how extensive the database was. She came to search a media or journalism internship for the summer.
“Hopefully I’ll find summer employment and since I’m an English major I would like to get some journalism experience,” she said.
When students start looking for jobs after college, having prior hands-on experience can be very advantageous, according to Sciola. He encourages students to start looking today for an internship that could be helpful to them in the future.
“Employers recognize the strength of a Wesleyan education, but they are also looking for examples of when you’ve used these skills. They want to know how you’ve already started practicing,” Sciola said.
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