Feeling a little bit nervous about finding an internship? Regardless of your academic standing (freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior), the process of searching for an internship can sometimes be overwhelming and confusing. This semester, many students have come into the Career Center with numerous questions about how to find internships, and though there are many resources that come to mind—Callisto/OCR, Careermail, etc.—the one tool that seems to be the most underutilized is networking. Networking initially seems like a nerve-wracking task to many students (don’t worry…you’re in good company ☺), but it is truly essential in finding many hidden opportunities that are frequently missed. This is something that I realized through first-hand experience last semester.
In the fall, I was able to get an internship as a research assistant over at UCSF. It was a great experience because it gave me a lot of insight into how the research process comes together and is conducted. I got to see and be a part of weekly lab meetings, assistant in recruitment, and gain valuable knowledge about how to work both independently and as a lab team with my fellow peers, as well as with the primary assistants to the researcher. As you may have guessed, this opportunity came to me through networking. I took a class this past summer at Berkeley and I met a classmate who told me about her research internship that she was going to start at the end of summer. I explained to her that I was looking for similar experience as a research assistant, and she mentioned to me that her researcher was interested in having a couple more interns join her research project. My friend gave me her email address, I got in contact with her, and ended up joining the research team for the fall!
What I learned and what I think is important for all students out there to realize is that networking can be as simple as talking to your friends or classmates. Many times it may seem intimidating to speak directly with people who you’ve never met before to tell them about your interests and professional goals. But instead I would suggest starting the process of networking with your friends and family. Practice communicating about your interests and goals, and work on developing your “elevator speech.” Not only will you feel more comfortable conversing with them, but you never know if your peers, friends, and relatives may know of an opportunity or another person who could further help you in finding that perfect internship position you’ve been searching so hard for. Once you get more comfortable speaking about your professional interests and past experiences, my advice would be to speak to anyone you can think of that may be of some help to you.
One of the advantages of being here at Cal is that there are so many people who could potentially be invaluable resources: professors, GSIs, academic advisers, career counselors, club/organization leaders, recruiters, Cal alums, friends, family, and of course us – the Career Center Peer Advisors! I think networking is an important skill that we learn to cultivate throughout our undergraduate experience, and continue to develop as we move on to graduate school and the work world. And, once we start to have professional experiences beyond the classroom, our network will only continue grow. Therefore, my last piece of advice would be to use your internships, volunteer experiences, and work experiences as opportunities not only to learn and gain skills, but also to expand your network. Oftentimes, our mentors or supervisors in our internships are fantastic resources in helping us get connected with other people who can help us further our practical “real-life” experience, and also give us useful advice or guidance about how to navigate through the career field that we ultimately hope to become a part of.
So therefore, don’t be afraid to articulate your goals (both short-term and long-term) out loud, because that’s the way others will know if they can be of any assistance to you or offer you an internship that would be a good fit. Our networking tab on the Career Center homepage is a great place to start if you’re looking for further resources on networking and who you can network with! Get out there and be heard!
Post by Peer Amy, 3rd year Psychology/Integrative Biology.
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Posted by: heathe | March 08, 2009 at 09:41 PM
Amy, I agree with everything you said! I just got a research position through my minor. Talking to professors and major/minor advisors can open doors.
Posted by: Mary | March 10, 2009 at 03:41 PM
Amy, I agree with everything you said! I just got a research position through my minor. Talking to professors and major/minor advisors can open doors.
Posted by: aion kinah | July 01, 2009 at 11:44 PM
Extremely long but very useful and informative article. How i wish i can do all of that in a short period of time. But for sure doing those will produce results. I will try to spread your words through my blog and link it back to you. Thanks a lot for those tips.
Posted by: thesis writing | August 06, 2009 at 11:23 PM