How to find Internships and Co-Ops

Lamar University Career and

Testing Center

Table of Contents• Is this the right program for me?• Internship/Co-op checklist?• Keys to Networking• Identify Your Career Interest• Start Early• Statistics• Researching Employers• Find your Passion• Questions

Is this the right program for me?• To get the best internship, narrow your focus as early as possible, deciding which

industry and even which company you want to intern for.

• Do your homework, and learn as much as possible about your industry of choice. Then, target companies you may want to work for.– Your Lamar University Career Center is a great place to start.

• Tap into your own network, including alumni groups, college organizations, professors or other students who have already had internships.

• Utilize the Internet and the lists that the CTC has provided for you; all listings are by major.

• You also have to research the answers to questions arising from your personal circumstances:– Does the internship pay? – Does it offer academic credit? , etc.

• Begin your campaign by sending query letters to their human resource departments accompanied with a good résumé and a list of references

Internship/Co-op checklist?

Complete “Scheduling your plan of action” from the CTC’s Job and Internship Guide

Conduct research on your potential employer; for a comprehensive list refer to the Job and Internship Guide

Tip: Check online resources, such as Hoover’s Company Records

Begin your internship search as early as possible Find out when the recruitment season for your field is

For example finance majors may want to start applying for more competitive internships at the end of the Fall semester

Shadow a professional from the company you aspire to intern for or someone who has your future career

If this is not possible, once you land an interview see if you are a “good fit” with the company’s culture

Attend Career Fairs The CTC sponsors a number of career fairs and invitational's for students each semester (Fall and

Spring)

Network, Network, Network Use your personal contacts, co-workers (past & present), and organizational contacts to begin

with

Keys to Networking

Begin with personal contacts (e.g. friends, family, neighbors, professors, etc.).‐

If possible, move on to past or present co workers, in the field in which you would like ‐to work.

Then reach out to people with whom you have something in common. (e.g. church ‐members, organizational members, etc.)

Send a letter or email to prepare the networking contact. Follow up within 72 hours with a phone call requesting a meeting or phone conversation.

Conduct your meeting/ informational interview.• Send a thank you note.•One month later, send a follow up e mail, letter, or phone call to networking contacts with whom you have had a ‐

positive experience. •The conversation is simply to update the networking contact of your progress.

Identify Your Career Interest Think about what type of field you want to work in and what interest you.

Ask yourself these questions

Do you like to work outdoors, with children or with money?

Are you interested in making a difference in the world for a non-profit organization?

Are you interested in investment banking, the law, or in working with the elderly?

Start Early

Begin sooner than later

Give yourself a couple month at least to identify potential internships and apply for them

Visit Cardinal Connect

Freshman year is not too soon to start looking

Researching EmployersCompany or Organization Web

Site- Information to ResearchMary & John Gray LibraryElectronic Resources

A. Business Databasesi. http://library.lamar.edu/ii. Click ‘Databases and more’iii. Click ‘1. List databases by subject

area’iv. Select Businessi. Select from the following

1. Business Source Complete2. Disclosure Corporate

Snapshots3. Hoover’s Company Records4. Mergent Online5. Worldscope

• Clients/Patrons/Recipients of services/products• Services/Products offered; niche area(s) of

services/products• Competitors or similar organizations•Difference between services/products/marketing/ clients and competitors or similar businesses /organizations• Various offices and locations• Organizational structure and details

o Board of Directors (Non profit)‐o Parent/Subsidiary companies (Corporations)o Hierarchical/departmental structure

(Government)• New services/products; older, reliable products/services• History• Careers• Divisions• Type of audience trying to reach with web site• Review organization/company as though you were

going to be a client/patron/donor/ investor

Researching Employers

• Cardinal Connect– Internship link

Online Resources

Statistics• Overall employers ranked career fairs as most effective, on-campus recruiting as second most

effective, and referrals from prior or current interns as the third most effective means of hiring interns.

• On average, employers said they begin recruiting for open intern/co-op positions six and one-half months prior to needing the positions filled.

• According to employers, the best way to recruit co-ops is to attend a career fair ,recruit on campus, or get referrals from current or former co-ops.

• Once the interview is complete, employers take an average of about three weeks (21.9 days) to extend an offer or inform the student that he/she is not being considered for the internship or co-op position. Students get an average of 14.5 days to accept or decline the offer.

• Last year, employers offered interns at the undergraduate level an average hourly wage of $16.33; this year, they hiked their hourly wage up 4.9 percent to $17.13. Interns at the master’s level, however, will see lower hourly wages. Last year, the average hourly wage to an intern at the master’s degree level was $24.95; the current hourly wage is $23.18, down 7.1 percent.

• The majority of respondents (77.3 percent) say they use their internship programs primarily as a tool for recruiting entry-level talent. Doing so appears to be a wise decision; employers reported that an average of 35.3 percent of their full-time entry level college hires from the class of 2007-08 were from their internship program.

Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers 2009 Experiential Education Survey

QUESTIONS?

Lamar University Career and Testing Center

Galloway BuildingSuite 102Phone: 409.880.8878http://dept.lamar.edu/careerandtestingcenter/