With summer around the corner, students reflect on their experiences finding internships and utilizing career resources at the University of Minnesota.
The University offers tailored career centers for students across the different colleges. Each center helps students with finding internships, networking, interviews and resumes.
Katie Razink, director of undergraduate career development at the Carlson School of Management, said the career center can be essential for students who might need help with internship or job interviews.
“Utilize those resume resources if you’re making it to the interviews but not getting further,” Razink said. “Come in for a practice interview, or utilize interviewing.com, which you can access through Handshake.”
Audrey Ronan, a fourth-year student studying psychology with minors in health services management and Spanish, said she started applying for summer internships in November.
Ronan submitted 47 applications. Of those, she said she was rejected from 26, and around half never responded to her application.
“I think that’s a growing trend too,” Ronan said, “A lot of companies just won’t even respond to you, which is why I knew I had to cast a broad net and start submitting applications early.”
Ronan said she knew she wanted an internship in health administration, applying to four different positions at Blue Cross, Blue Shield Minnesota, where she got hired as an intern for the summer. Her internship is pretty flexible with her degree and gives her a wider breadth of possibilities.
Being consistent and applying to jobs that truly interest you is important, Razink said. For lots of students, narrowing down the job search will help you find better results.
“For instance, if you’re interested in marketing, instead of searching for ‘marketing internship,’ search for digital marketing or social media marketing internship,” Razink said. “Getting as specific as you can based on the types of positions you’re interested in will yield better results.”
Lukas Perdekamp, a second-year student studying economics, said he realized throughout his internship search the importance of connections.
Although Perdekamp said he personally does not love networking, he admitted it works. When he was looking for jobs in the fall, Perdekamp went to a networking event where he met a recruiter and applied for the job while keeping in touch with her, which made all the difference.
“I got an interview, and she said that they probably would have dropped me if I didn’t reach out to her,” Perdekamp said. “So I already had the interview.”
Razink also emphasized the importance of networking not just in finding a job for the summer but also for future career searches after college or for postgrad.
“Doing that, again back to that bigger picture, you’re building a network for a future search,” Razink said. “You have an established connection in that space.”
