Tips from the "Internship Queen"

Today's post provides some tips, courtesy of the "internship queen" - Lauren Berger was recently profiled by Chicago Public Radio about her internship web page, and why internships are more important than ever.

Here is some of her advice:

1. When applying to internships, it’s important to have all the materials together and prepared. Your resume only needs to be one page long, currently updated and it can’t have nothing on it. A lot of times, the problem with freshmen and sophomores is they have no experience, but they need to know they have had experiences, they just need to look at small experiences–volunteering with their families, high school activities–and pick out the important tasks they have learned.

2. Before interviewing–and even before you apply–go online and find out the company’s mission statement. Find out if it’s something you want to be involved with, and tie that into your answers at your interview: make it clear you understand the company’s mission and you want to help work on the goals the company is trying to achieve.

3. When interviewing, go in there with a sense of passion and excitement for what you’re doing.

Having trouble finding internships to apply for, let alone showing passion and excitement in your interview? Use CAPS resources to find opportunities that interest you - the next Metcalf deadline is this Thursday, February 19. Make sure you're checking the list of opportunities and upcoming deadlines, and applying via Chicago Career Connection. There are also hundreds of other non-Metcalf internship opportunities in Chicago Career Connection right now - log into the "Jobs" tab and search by keyword, location or industry.

Still not finding what you're interested in? Come into CAPS and meet with a staff member to talk about what type of internship your looking for, where you've been applying and where you need some help. You can call (773) 702 - 7040 to schedule an appointment, or come to walk-in hours.

To read the complete article about Ms. Berger and her internship kingdom, click here.

Questions, ideas, frustrations about the internship search? Post them to the CAPS blog here.