How To Get The Right Start To Internship/Job Searching
Being a junior or senior preparing to send emails and such to try and get an internship or being a graduate student getting ready to apply for a job can be hard. It is one of the hardest times that most people will face. Why? Because it’s a trying time. You are putting yourself out there to all these employers and companies, trying to put your face out there to better a company and get some work done. Most students don’t get the chance to truly understand how to go about this process because it’s something that really isn’t pushed as much as it should be. Thankfully, Syracuse University does! The University makes it a priority to ensure that all students have the resources to succeed in their home, school, or wherever they are on campus.
This is about the time that everyone starts sending out their resumes and here are a few tips that I’ve learned so far on a graduate level of what to do a little better, what I can tighten up on, and what you can do to prepare even earlier than most:
- Research. Before you do ANYTHING, research what you want or what you think you want. This is the most important step before anything else. It doesn’t look good to send out information about yourself when you know nothing about the company you’re looking into. Research what it is exactly you want to do, then what region it’s available in, and get deeper into your profession as to what you can do with your degree, etc.
- Research 1a. Research whether the companies (that are available) match your morals and what they can do for you.
- Network. See who’s part of the Newhouse Network and find out who’s in your profession through alumni and recent graduates. Also, look through LinkedIn, speak to the career center at your school (the CDC for Newhouse people), and reach out via social media and other networking opportunities.
- Network 1a. Try your best to go to networking events on campus that deal with your particular profession, go off-campus and through the state too, even out of state. Lastly, reach out to the speakers that come to the school and ask those questions you’re dying to ask. You never know what the outcome can be.
- Be open. Be open about what you want and what you want to do. Example: I thought I wanted to only work for entertainment news and that only. Now, I’ve changed my perspective on what I want. I know I can work for a local news station and do hard news, light stories, entertainment news, and even features. There are different avenues you can take to get to where you want to be, but you have to know that there isn’t one sure way to get there.
- Have dedication and patience. Be dedicated to the work that you’re doing and work hard. Just because you don’t have what you’re looking for at the moment, doesn’t mean you have to give up and do less than 100%. Also be patient in everything that you do. Sometimes, you might get defeated or someone might turn you down for the position you want, but don’t stop there.
All of these steps take a minute to get used to and you should start researching everything about 2 months to a month out from the end of your program. There’s always someone out there who needs to hire someone. Hopefully this helps someone in the same position as I was, and good luck!
