How to Get an Internship (As a Freshman)

Step 1: Write your resume in your first few weeks of being in school. In WEPO there will be a resume writing session and you will be able to get a jump start on writing your resume. WEPO also has fantastic resume formats which you can find on Angel.

Step 2: Revise your resume. Send your resume out to WEPO peers and mentors. You may think your resume is perfect but you may have a silly spelling mistake. Do yourself a favor and get your resume reviewed.

Step 3: Start researching online for companies you are interested in working for. Penn State has a huge fall career fair and engineering network sessions and they have all the companies who will be attending at this website http://careerfairs.psu.edu/fall/. Researching companies that will be attending the career fair would be a great place to start.

Step 4: Mark your calendars because the technical career fair day is SEPTEMBER 17^th in the Bryce Jordan Center (BJC) from 11AM to 4PM. Search around http://www.engr.psu.edu/career/ for more engineering events. The career fair comes up quick and early so make sure you are prepared.

-         Bring your resume on a thumb drive and printed out (15 copies)

-         Bring a notebook and a pen

-         Dress for success (Slacks and a nice shirt)

-         Have your firm handshake ready

-         Have a 30 second elevator speech ready (Name, Major, Year, Objective and things that interest you)

-         Have a plan of which companies you want to visit

-         Do not forget to be confident and be excited!

Step 5: Apply online for internships with the companies you visited on career fair day and/or apply online for other internships.

Step 6: Keep on the lookout for engineering specific emails. Student organizations and the engineering department will send out emails about employers looking to recruit Penn State engineers. Take every opportunity you can to apply for these jobs online (make sure you read the directions thoroughly).

Step 7: If you haven’t heard back from any company from the career fair day, search online for the company’s Penn State recruiter, and email them saying you are VERY interested in the internship and attach your resume.

Step 8: If you are offered a phone interview or on-campus interview, congrats! Prepare a few talking points but otherwise have fun with the interview and be professional. The company will lead you through the next steps in the interview process; they may even fly you out to their headquarters! Good luck and don’t forget to contact any WEPO mentors for advice.

Don’t let anyone tell you that freshman don’t get internships. If you put in the effort and show passion it is very likely that you may actually get one. Every step in this blog post is something I did in my first month of college and guess what, it worked. I ended up getting two internship offers and by Halloween I knew I was going to be working for Microsoft for the summer. :) 

Ria Bhatia is a sophomore in Computer Science, and she is a Rover in WEPO '14.