Finding an internship as a first-year student can be a challenging task – you may not have a ton of experience or know what you even want to do! Here’s some tips I used last year that I believe will be helpful for most students looking for something to do over the summer.
Job Portals and Western Resources
Western has its own job portal that can connect students with many opportunities on or off-campus for the summer or during the school year. Login using your Western ID and be sure to browse around to see what you can find. Another resource is Western University’s Magnet Community, which generates jobs for you based on your specific skill sets and interests. Western’s Student Success Centre also has an extensive list of different resources to check out.
If you are looking for something more research-focused, try to make connections with your professors and see if they need help over the summer with any of their projects. Attend office hours and participate actively in class to make yourself more known (it also helps to do well in their class).
Cold Emailing
This is probably the most common method for first and second year students since their personal network has yet to be established. When drafting a cold email, it’s best to keep it short – 3 to 4 sentences should be sufficient. But, do make the effort to customize each email to a certain extent (your intro and closing, however, can be the same). It’s clear to employers when an email has been sent out to 100 people – I even made the mistake last year of using the wrong company name in a message (yikes)! Proofreading is key – informal language or grammatical errors are very off-putting.
There’s also a fine line with cold emails because you should not outwardly mention that you are only emailing them for a summer internship. Try to inquire about the company’s industry in general and be open for phone calls/coffee chats. I have talked to people in various different industries simply to learn more about their careers.
Online Applications
This is the most traditional route. Many large companies will have their own application portals with job openings. The common problem here is that many companies will not read through every application or respond back to all applicants – leaving you hanging. Not to mention, many forms are a pain to fill out since you have to reformat your work experience before also attaching your resume. Personally, I’ve heard about very little success with this method, especially when there are more direct ways to connect with people at the firm. Definitely do not be discouraged if you do not hear back from these companies.
Personal Connections
This has the potential to be the easiest way to land a summer internship. If you know someone (who knows someone) at a company, it can really open doors for you. While I used to think that using personal connections to find a job was dishonest, the benefits really do outweigh the costs in this situation. It’s better to have a job that you got through a connection than no job at all! So, do not feel guilty for reaching out to your immediate network for opportunities first.
People you meet at networking events can also become personal connections. If you meet someone of interest and manage to strike up a genuine conversation, make sure to get their business card or contact information and follow through the next day with an email.