Getting That First Internship

I was asked to advise undergrads about how to start a career while being a student. I wanted to give a detailed overview of how to get your first internship because it was the hardest part for me. Here are some of the slides/tips that I presented!

The first thing I want to say is apply! I applied to at least 100 jobs my freshman year and didn’t hear back from anyone. It didn’t feel great, but if you don’t apply, you’ll never know.

The first step is to have somewhere to showcase your work. This could be a resume/CV, LinkedIn profile, website portfolio or a combination of the three. It’s best to have some work experience from college. If you don’t have any work experience, you can include college projects from classes or clubs. If you’re just starting out, it’s okay to include things from high school. You’ve done such a good job starting your journey. Show it off!

If you need help finding places to apply to, reach out to people in your department: students, alumni, or professors. They'll know good places for you to work. Meet with them and establish a relationship. After you've done this, you can ask them for a referral: you can ask if their old team is recruiting, if they can introduce you to someone in the company, or if they know about other opportunities in the company. They can introduce you to recruiters and hiring managers . They might also be able to share their interview and application notes to help you with your application.

After you’ve applied to the job posting, make sure you reach out to recruiters! My go-to is to reach out on LinkedIn: I usually send a message or I follow the recruiter and add a note to my follow request where I introduce myself and mention the specific job posting to which I applied. It’s also great to mention that you are interested in other opportunities--not just the posting that you applied to--so that they can suggest other positions that align with your experience and goals. This might seem excessive, but getting your name recognized by recruiters is the best way to move your application forward and to help your career in the long run. There are so many people applying for jobs and it can be really hard to get yourself noticed if you don't know someone in the company. It is very important to initiate and have these connections. Unfortunately for someone starting out, the job of reaching out is on you, the applicant. Fortunately, this means that they are expecting to hear from you, so don’t be afraid to reach out! You can also reach out to recruiters at events sponsored by career advancement organizations. When you attend these events make sure to ask the recruiters for event-specific applications. Usually there are affiliation applications for events like the NSBE or SHPE conference. These applications are great because there is a smaller pool than the general application, meaning your application is more likely to be noticed.

Depending on your field, there might be a timeframe that is best to apply for jobs. Some tech and engineering companies fill up their positions in the summer and fall, while others do most of their recruiting in the winter and spring. It is best to apply as soon as possible because you don't know when their applications close. If you're worried that the applications are closed, try going to career conferences. Tech and engineering companies reserve positions for recruiting at conferences. If you're interested in a company that hired most of its interns in the summer and fall, these conferences are a great way to get your foot in the door.

Many of the summer positions fill up quickly, but internships offered over the US academic school year usually have more availability. If you are able to work during the school year, let the recruiter know that you are interested in fall/winter/spring internships and remote/part-time opportunities.

Lots of universities also offer job opportunities over breaks. At my undergrad, it was referred to as "wintersession" or a "winternship" During these breaks, the school offers mini-internships and jobs for students to work. The positions might match you with a company or you might work with someone in your department. Either way, it is a great way to get some experience.

The final thing I’ll say about the job searching process is to expand your search. After getting all those industry rejections freshman year, I decided to apply to an internal internship in my engineering department. I worked with a lab on campus, and I got to use my technical skills for the first time.

There are lots of ways to get experience. It’s not limited to general industry internship applications. There are many fellowships out there that can match you with a mentor and a company. I’ve listed some of the ones that I know of in the image above for mechanical and aerospace engineering, but there are so many out there.

I highly recommend trying research during your time in undergrad. You can do it during breaks or during the school year. The best part is that you are not limited to your university. There are many programs and opportunities across the USA.

You can apply to Summer Undergraduate Research Programs (SURP). Many schools across the USA offer programs like these that are meant for undergrads. These programs provide housing, relocation stipends, and a stipend for food and other living expenses. You will be matched with an advisor who will work with you as you do your research and you'll end the summer presenting all the amazing work you've done. You will also be placed in a cohort with other students like yourself. You'll get to network and make friends at the program's events. They also frequently have seminars for career and educational tips. The National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsors many student research projects through Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs). Many schools across the country offer them and they are a great way to get hands-on experience. They are very similar to SURP. Be sure to look into undergraduate research programs because they are not all called SURP and REU. These programs are not limited to US citizens; SURP frequently welcomes international students.

If you don’t want to go through the application process for these programs, you can always reach out to professors directly. You can reach out to professors at your school or any other school. You can find the contact information of the head/director of the lab on their department websites. Email them: tell them that you are very interested in their research and you are excited by the field, detail any experience that you may have, and send them your resume. Professors and researchers are very busy so don't be afraid to email them multiple times.

Lastly, use your career center! They can help you find opportunities and help you prepare for internships.

Your career is a journey. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t hear back immediately (or at all). There is absolutely nothing wrong with you if you don't get the position.

It's just a job! It is so early on in your career. You have lots of time to do great things and work on the things that excite you. There are so many opportunities out there. You'll likely see that you end up working outside of your field at a job/company that you never expected. You are free to any kind of work in any area. Or you can take a well-deserved break. You are not defined by constant labor. You don't have to work during every single break. Spend your time and your breaks doing what enriches you, what keeps you grounded, and what strengthens you to keep going. Don’t be ashamed to rest, especially when you have time off from academics. Most importantly, don't beat yourself up for not getting that position.

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It is likely that as you transition from just a student to a student and a worker, you will be faced with a job interview. Here's what to do when you get the first interview.

Yay, you got the interview!

Remember, there are gonna be multiple rounds of interviews: make sure that you prep for each one of those interviews.

Afterward, reach out to everyone that contacted you about the position and say thank you (Extra points if you say you’re looking forward to hearing from them soon or you look forward to your paths crossing in the future). Networking is meeting people, giving help/receiving help, and keeping in touch. If you reached out to a professor in your field, keep in touch and say hi regularly! If you asked an alum for help, send them a message saying happy holidays or invite them out for coffee. It is very important to keep these connections so good people are invested in helping you advance your career.

For any interviews where they might see you, make sure you dress formally. It is true that your appearance does not affect your ability to work, but dressing seriously shows that you take the job seriously.

The first couple interviews will likely be behavioral. Behavioral interviews are meant to get to know you as a person and your experience. They most likely will not ask you to solve hard technical problems at this time. To prep for your behavioral interview, it is important to do the following:

• Research the company. Make sure you know their mission and their strategy. They’re going to ask why you wanna work in the company: you should have an answer that explains how the company’s mission and strategies align with your goals. They might ask about your long term goals and how those goals align with the company. Make sure you have a solid answer about how the company fits in with your plans and, more importantly, how you fit in with the company.

• Know yourself. They’re also gonna ask you to tell them about yourself. You should be able to describe your interests, why you are passionate about that field/company, and what you can add to the company. Practice talking about your experiences, things that went wrong, things that went right, and what you learned.

• Use the STAR method to answer describe your experiences:

  • Situation: Describe the situation and give brief details about the example you're discussing. Give the interviewer a good background about the situation/problem in one or two sentences.

  • Task: Describe what your specific tasks and responsibilities were in the situation. Tell the interviewer what you were tasked with doing and any other tasks that you took upon yourself.

  • Action: Explain the specific steps you took to assess and address the situation. How did you try to solve the problem? Did you do extra work? Extra research? Did you reach out to anyone? Why? Make sure you can describe how you took on the problem.

  • Result: Share the results of the situation. Did you solve the problem? If you didn't, how did you move forward and what did you learn? It's also helpful to use numbers to explain your results. Quantitative answers will stick in the interviewers' minds.

  
  

Always ask a question at the end of the interview. I like to ask three questions, usually relating to the scope of the work I'll be expected to work on or the work environment. Asking questions shows the interviewer that you've really thought through working at the company.

After you've made it through the behavioral interviews, you will likely proceed to the technical interviews. This is where it gets very field-specific. You can have, one, two, or even three rounds of technical interviews. In my experience, technical interviews always vary. Sometimes they feel like exams (don't be surprised if they give you a quiz/exam to test your skills in place of a technical interview) where you are asked specific problems with specific numbers and you have to give a numerical answer. Other times they might ask you about one problem and try to delve into your reasoning: instead of lots of problems, they will alter the scenario surrounding this problem and ask more questions about the scenario. I have also had interviews where the questions are not numerical or specific, rather they ask me lots of fundamental questions: for example, I've been asked to draw and label a stress-strain curve and describe how the curve would change for a metal vs. plastic. Your technical interview can be any one of these or a combination. Let's see how to prep for technical interviews!

Make sure you are familiar with the job posting. Even if you are applying for a job with a generic title like "Mechanical Engineer Intern," the job description will vary. Your work will be focused on a specific topic e.g. manufacturing, analysis, structures, materials, electromechanical systems, etc. Be familiar with the responsibilities associated with the role, so you know what to study.

Jobs might give you a short turnaround for these interviews: I've had behavioral interviews on Monday with a scheduled technical interview on Tuesday! If you are given a lot of time to prep, use it! If you are unsure if the interview is technical, ask the recruiter. If you need more time (you are a student, after all), don't be afraid to ask for an extra couple of days.

To prep for this interview use your resources to learn as much content as you can.

• Ask others how they've prepped. Other students might have notes that they’re willing to share! They might also be willing to do practice interviews with you. Don't be afraid to ask others for help. Your career advancement, especially in early stages, is dependent on the people you surround yourself with. You need to have people that are ahead of you that you can look to for help and advice.

• Your school's career center will have resources to help you. Career centers might have practice interviews or practice problems with a trained professional that can run through an interview with you. Schedule a meeting to practice well before your interview.

• The internet is a resource! There are lots of online resources that have interview prep questions and general notes about interviews. If it is hard to find practice questions through people, browse around online to find technical job interview tips.

• Go through the basics for your field. Go through the basic concepts and make sure you can talk through them, particularly concepts that pertain to the job description. It helps to practice some basic problems to make sure you understand the concepts. I’ve made a living document that summarizes my key mechanical and aerospace engineering notes. I edit it regularly with new problems and new tips that I remember from interviews or new crucial concepts that I have learned. Be familiar with the concepts that pertain to your role so that you can refer to them during the interview.

• Be prepared to talk through your thinking. If you are solving a problem that relies on a specific principle or a specific concept, mention that specific concept. If it requires a specific equation, mention that specific equation. Be sure about what you’re saying and make sure they understand what you're saying. They will likely ask you to expand on that concept or why you might choose that specific approach instead of another approach. This does not necessarily mean that the approach you chose was wrong. (Interviewers are not all mean and bad) They want to know if you are confident in your skills and thinking, so make sure you're confident! Their questioning might even be a way to help you recall a better alternative approach to the problem. Make sure you can talk through your thought process and try to consider multiple methods for solving whichever problem they bring up.

• It’s okay to not know something. They don’t know what you don’t know. The best way to tackle some questions that you aren’t familiar with is to answer with whatever you’re sure about and remind them that you’re looking to gain more experience in that area. My go-to phrase is to say that I hope to learn more about that specific area through experience (which is true because I want to learn as much as I can to be the best engineer that I can be).

The technical intern interview process is a little different from the full-time position process. For full-time positions, you are often asked to present a project that you've worked on for thirty minutes to a team of people in the company. Following this, they will ask you questions for thirty minutes to an hour. This might take place virtually or in-person. Typically, teams like to fly potential hires to the office so they can see how they fit on-site. This in-person meeting will likely include the most rigorous part of the interview process. After your presentation and Q&A, you will likely be placed in back-to-back interviews. This might happen immediately after the interview process or in the following days. These interviews might be one-on-one or will be you and a few members of a team. You will likely have three to five rounds of back-to-back technical and behavioral interviews. These 30-minute meetings will involved multiple people in the company across different teams. It is hard, but you can do it! You have the skills and knowledge to succeed!

The process after the technical interviews is not set in stone. You might hear back immediately. You might have to do an additional behavioral interview. You might not hear back at all and you'll have to reach out to ask if you are still in consideration. If you don't feel like the interview process was positive i.e. you don't think you got the job, make sure to say thank you to the people who interviewed you. Ask them if they have feedback or if there are other teams that they believe you might better fit. Interviews are a learning experience, so if you've learned something from it, you've already won.

If you do hear back positively, do not feel pressure to accept the first offer or to accept immediately. If you are waiting to hear back from other offers, let them know that you might need an extension on the deadline to respond. You can also leverage other offers or bring up the average pay in your field/location to ask for higher pay. When you're doing this be sure to reiterate that you are excited about their work and you are appreciative of the offer.

If the offer you have accepted was an internship, remember to work hard at your internship for a return offer. Return offers are helpful because after multiple internships, the team and company become familiar with you. If you are a great fit for the team and you've demonstrated that over the course of multiple internships, you might not require the rigorous full-time interview process: your next return offer could be a full-time position! Having a return offer makes it easier to switch between teams because you have confirmed that you can do great work in the company. Not only can you switch between teams, but you can use your return offer as leverage when you apply to other companies so you can find the best fit for yourself.

Your career is about you. It is about your goals, your wants, and needs. Even though it's about achieving the goals that you've dreamt for yourself, do not be limited by your imagination. Take time to explore other areas (not just engineering, tech, and STEM)! Explore, explore, explore, but explore with intention and drive. Everyone knows the saying "the world is your oyster," but most people don't know that the last bit of the quote says "Which I with sword will open." Have big dreams. Have crazy goals. But always be driven. Take the beautiful future you envision for yourself fervently and aggressively. Wielding a sword isn't easy, but you have all the skills to do it. Plus, I believe in you!

I'm still very early on in my career, so my wisdom is limited. There is so much to know about applying and getting a job. It can be hard to get that first position, but it is possible! These tips (and divine intervention) have helped me get every job that I've wanted. As long as you try your best, you are sure to end up exactly where you want and are meant to be. I hope that these tips are helpful to you in your career!

Go forth in your greatness!