Are you a freshmen or sophomore? Are you trying to gain experience or explore your career interests? Do you have free time during winter break? If you answered yes to these questions, you should consider Cal’s externship program!
Most students know what an internship is, but what’s an externship? An externship is a great opportunity for freshmen, sophomores, and even upper classmen, who are still exploring their career options but might not have enough experience to gain an internship or other position, to get acquainted with a field of interest and see if it would be right fit for them. Externships are generally shorter than internship programs, lasting anywhere from one day to around a week. They are located in a wide variety of places including the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, and areas around Washington, DC. Externship opportunities and locations vary, but keep in mind that, in most cases, you will be responsible for travel expenses to the externship location.
The externship program has opportunities in a wide variety of areas including business, law, nonprofit positions and many more. Externships are perfect if you are like most of us and are not sure about what you want to do in the future or have several interests. For example, it’s hard to know whether you will like the law field, or which type of law you want to study, without direct experience in a law firm and an understanding of the daily happenings of the profession. An externship will provide you a quick glimpse into different career fields and give you a feel for the position without the longer-term commitment of an internship or job.
In addition to getting an up close and personal experience, externships will also get you started with networking and expanding your professional contacts. As a peer advisor, I always recommend that people start practicing networking as soon as possible because networking can lead to internships, unlisted jobs openings, and/or resources not publically available. It helps to know people on the “inside” of the industry. Externships are also a “safe” and low-pressure place for you to start networking because the sponsor is a Cal alum who is fully aware of the job hunting process and how the transition was from Cal to their current position. They will give you valuable insight and advice about the procedure and any other tips that you might not get otherwise.
To sum up, externships are a great opportunity for you if you are a Cal student, especially freshmen or sophomore, and interested in exploring your career options. Our externship listings are currently up on the Career Center website and open for freshmen and sophomores to apply because they get preference. The second application round, open to juniors, seniors as well as freshmen and sophomores, will begin on Nov. 17 and the final deadline to apply for externships are on Nov. 28 at 11:59pm. I encourage you to not wait until the very last minute because there is no way to predict how many other students will also be waiting until the last minute and you want to avoid any computer/technical difficulties. Look through our listings, explore your options, and refine your resume with a peer advisor or career counselor at the Career Center before you apply. Good luck!
Blog written by Juliana Steers.
Impressive blog! -Arron
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