InternshipRatings.com

By Nora K. Jemison  
Director, Experiential Education & Employer Outreach  
New York Institute of Technology

 Q. Yikes! It’s almost summer and I haven’t found an internship! What do I doooooooooo?

A. First and foremost, don’t panic. Keep looking. Thanks to the hot job market in the high tech fields, it’s possible to find “last minute” internship opportunities even right up through July. Think about it: sometimes a student who found an internship may have decided to turn down the opportunity for whatever reason, leaving a frustrated employer scrambling for a replacement. Also, employers are just like students — sometimes they procrastinate. If you’re prepared to take advantage of these opportunities, you can score a last-minute internship easily.

Visit your college’s career office ASAP to find out about still-available internships. Also, Craigslist.org is a great place to find “last minute” opportunities. There’s no fee or delay to post positions there, so employers who are in a bind will more often post there than someplace like Dice.com, Monster.com, or your local paper.

But okay. So let’s say for whatever reason that you still don’t find an internship for the summer. You can still gain experience via personal projects. Here are some examples.

The “Junior Bill Gates” Plan: Want to run your own tech startup someday? Start now — spend the summer researching how to write a successful business plan, and write up one for your dream business. For bonus points, go ahead and use this plan to pitch for a business loan at your bank, or with a potential investor (you might want to start with someone who’s currently investing in you… like a parent). If you’re really feeling daring, enlist friends to become part of your “development team” and get them involved — for example, a graphic design major can help you build a nice-looking website to showcase your product (and gain some useful experience herself). A business major can help you with the business plan and investor pitch.

The REALLY Hardcore Gamer Plan: Like video games? Try writing one of your own. You may have to teach yourself some skills that you don’t yet know, like computer graphics or advanced programming techniques — but that’s OK, because then you’ll be able to add these new skills to your resume at the end of the summer, and you’ll get better grades when you finally do take these classes. If your idea is really hot, enlist a team of other students to help you with it — other programmers, computer animation majors, maybe some business majors looking to build a business plan. For bonus points, start networking with professional gamers, by joining your local chapter of the International Game Developers Association (igda.org) and attending their networking functions. These events are usually fun and casual and welcoming to bright-eyed students, and pro game people love to talk about their work. You may even find some mentors willing to help you out… or buy your idea.

The Chatty Cathy Plan: If you’re a techie who’s a little more verbal/social than most, use your l33t communications skills to kick-start your career with a weblog. Come up with a catchy title and interesting subject matter, and write posts which showcase your ability to be articulate, witty, and to “hook” an audience. Try not to replicate the tech blogs that are already out there; put your own unique spin on things. For example, let’s say you’re a gamer who’s not part of the typical young white male demographic, and you want the world to know what you think about the latest hottest stuff. Or let’s say you have poetic leanings, and decide to post weekly haikus about circuit design. (Hey, I’d read it.) Bonus points: teach yourself how to use some blogging technology/technique that’s in high demand these days, like Movable Type, Wordpress, or search engine optimization. Your next internship search should go a lot better with those on your resume.

Hope this gives you some ideas. With a little passion and intiative — attributes that employers really love to see — you can get great experience whether you have a summer internship or not. And since personal projects can go on your resume (ask a career counselor how to showcase this experience), think of them as your own custom-built internship!