Always an Applicant, But Never Hired

Question:

"I'm a junior this fall, and I've only had one internship credit so far (and it was boring). I want to land more high-profile internships, but never seem to be offered any. I think I have a great resume, present myself well, feel knowledgeable about the place I'm interviewing. But in the end, they always decide to 'go with someone else.' What gives? What can I do better so I get the offers I think I deserve?"

Answer:

This is certainly a tough predicament that many of you may face. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but sometimes getting a job is just a numbers game. For instance, I was in charge of recruiting at a big ad agency that was a very popular place to work. We’d get as many as 800 resumes for our summer internship program where we hired four students. There were probably dozens of qualified applicants, but we could only hire those four. The others were out of luck.

That being said, there are a few tricks to get yourself a great summer internship.

1. Network.

It’s one thing to have your resume sitting in a pile with 500 others, and it’s quite another to have it forwarded to the HR department from someone in the organization. As a Recruiting Director I was much more likely to hire someone who came referred from within the organization.

Networking doesn’t mean having someone get you a job. It means someone giving you a better opportunity for a job. Tap into your friends, your organizations, and even your parents. It’s like six degrees of separation. You may not know any employees at your dream company – but someone you know probably does. Call them up, mention your connection, and ask if you can talk with them about their company and their career. You’ll be surprised at how many people will help you.

2. Prepare.

You indicated that your resume and interviewing skills are in as good as they can be. Are you absolutely sure? You may be shocked at how much better your resume can be. I read more than 10,000 student resumes and was blown away at how bad most of them were. I threw away 50% in less than 5 seconds, and another 49% weren’t as good as they could have been.

Make sure you’re getting advice from a former Recruiting Director – someone who looked at the resumes and decided who got the job and who didn’t. Nothing against your mom, your older brother, or even your college professor – but unless they made a career of deciding the fate of student resumes they may not be the person to give you advice.

Remember, there are often hundreds of applicants for the same internship, many of them come from great schools, with amazing credentials (just like you). What are you doing to make sure you’re standing out?

3. Change Your Expectations

Everyone wants to work at the high profile places, but they may not be the best for you. Just because a company has a great name doesn’t necessarily mean they have a great internship program. Sometimes smaller or mid-size companies can give your more responsibility and more access to management. Plus the more flexible you are in terms of location and industries, the more options you have at landing a great internship.

If you’re going for high profile that’s certainly a good way to go, but don’t necessarily put all your eggs in one basket. Just like you had a “safety” school or two when you applied to college, you should think the same way when it comes to getting an internship.

Good luck!

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