The process of getting an Internship was very enlightening for me. I learned a lot about the corporate world and how things really work.

My first stop was to our Career Services office. I had a resume and cover letter all set when I met with my Career Service advisor for the first time. Our first meeting included going over both of those documents and her giving me a lot of good suggestions on style, format, and content. We also discussed my interests and what kind of internship I was looking for. It was a good start.

So I got to work on editing and updating my resume and cover letter. I also hit the Internet; many of the major companies want students to apply online these days due to the high number of applicants. This is convenient because it’s quick and easy to apply; however, it’s not the most effective way to get an internship or co-op.

From my experience, and that of my friends, the best way to get an internship or co-op is to create connections with people in the company that you’re interested in. This may sound hard but it’s really not. Make it a point to get to know your professors and to get involved on campus. Our professors have many contacts in the industry and if they know you and respect you they’ll be more than likely to get you in touch with someone that can get you in.

This is how I got my internship opportunity. Last year I got involved in the Satellite Development Group on campus, it was a good learning experience to get hands – on experience and to get to know some professors out of the classroom environment.

This spring one of those advisors heard from a friend of his at Honeywell that they were looking for interns for the summer. Knowing I was searching he offered to pass along my resume. This is the best way to get you resume read and get to an interview. When you apply online you r resume is not necessarily read by a person and it’s hard to make yourself stand out to the computer.

Anyways, about a week later I heard from my adviser’s contact at Honeywell and set up an interview with him for the next week. Since this Honeywell campus was in Clearwater , Florida, (near Tampa ) I offered to drive out there to do an interview in person instead of doing one over the phone. This is another good time to go see Career Services and set up a mock interview. They are very helpful and get you thinking about how to present yourself, and you seem more polished when you do the actual interview.

Well to skip the boring details I went down and got a tour of the facility and did the interview which went very well (you just have to be yourself and be interested). I heard back about 3 weeks later from them with a job offer.