Internships

[John0101]

I am currently applying for internships for the summer. I am applying for internships in financial insituitions and government agencies. Most require me to send them my resume online and I have a few questions concerning my application...

Should I send a cover letter? All the places didn't say whether I should send a cover letter or not so should I send one even though they didn't request one?

When should I send a thank you letter? I talked to my career center officer and they said sending a thank you letter is a must so when should I send a thank you letter? One week? Two weeks?

[Green_Jade]

I am currently applying for internships for the summer. I am applying for internships in financial insituitions and government agencies. Most require me to send them my resume online and I have a few questions concerning my application...

Should I send a cover letter? All the places didn't say whether I should send a cover letter or not so should I send one even though they didn't request one?

When should I send a thank you letter? I talked to my career center officer and they said sending a thank you letter is a must so when should I send a thank you letter? One week? Two weeks?

Sending a coverletter is always a good idea. It shows you took extra time instead of just sticking something in the envelope and putting a stamp on it.

Also.. most people I know that has had internships didn't get them through a advertized internship.. they wrote/contacted directly the company/agency/ect they were interested in working with.

You send a thank you letter after you get interviewed. Send it out asap, and restate how interested you are in the position... Make it short and sweet, a bit personal for the interviewer. hope this helps and good luck

[John0101]

Sending a coverletter is always a good idea. It shows you took extra time instead of just sticking something in the envelope and putting a stamp on it.

Also.. most people I know that has had internships didn't get them through a advertized internship.. they wrote/contacted directly the company/agency/ect they were interested in working with.

You send a thank you letter after you get interviewed. Send it out asap, and restate how interested you are in the position... Make it short and sweet, a bit personal for the interviewer. hope this helps and good luck

thank you letters after interviews, got that thx.

What if I don't get an interview? Should I just go to the company ask someone for the internship department to talk to the person?

[Green_Jade]

thank you letters after interviews, got that thx.

What if I don't get an interview? Should I just go to the company ask someone for the internship department to talk to the person?

You can, and should follow up with the company after you send them the resume/application material. Unless they specifically say not to contact them back. Be assertive, and persuasive, without being annoying..you don't want to piss anyone off. If they don't contact you even with your dilligence, move on. I think I contacted around 10 different companies for my internship and only had two contact me back offering interviews, had one interview, one position offer..

Personally... I drafted a coverletter basically telling the companies that I was a student looking for an internship, and said that I would be an asset to the company..and briefly stated what I could do for them.

Lots of people will be nice about writing back to you, some won't, some will be willing to interview.

[ellsworth81]

lots of good advice artzygrl.

yea, don't be calling if they say not to.

and if you're gonna call, you better have a good sales pitch ready. moreover, depending on the size of the company, you will get the run around or some canned response to get you off their backs. most often your point of contact is the recruiter and try develop an on-going "relationship" with one.

[SynRG]

Be assertive, and persuasive, without being annoying..you don't want to piss anyone off.


This is quite possibly the hardest thing to do and you'll definitely have to be careful. There is a very, very fine like between what is assertive and what is annoying. Once you fall into that annoying category you're done for. Think of it like trying to get a date. Girls lose interest in you real quick when they think you're stalking them :wink:

Generally, unless otherwise stated, you're allowed a "follow-up" call to inquire feedback concerning the resume you sent in. If you're having to make a second call after that chances are you didn't make the cut.

Cover letters- They never hurt, but keep them short... about 1/2 a page to 2/3 a page MAX. Whatever you do, do not just summarize or regurgitate your resume in your cover letter. Your cover letter is your chance to tell a company what you couldn't tell them w/ your resume alone.. so show that you've done some research into the company/position and why you think you would be perfect for it. Show them you know something about the industry as well.

I'm a bit iffy on going too in-depth on how you could "benefit the company." To me that sounds like something you'd focus on when applying for a full-time position. Keep in mind that companies seldom "need" interns.. if they needed ppl to do their shit-work they can go through a temp agency. The real reason companies hire interns is because they see potential. Taking on an intern is an investment for them. I'm not saying an intern doesn't benefit the company at all, but just keep that in mind when you're formulating your sales pitch.

Good luck! :biggrin:

[John0101]

SynRG, Artzygrrl, invaluable infomation, thx. :)

[Faithless]

Generally, unless otherwise stated, you're allowed a "follow-up" call to inquire feedback concerning the resume you sent in. If you're having to make a second call after that chances are you didn't make the cut.
Most times.

But I've been around places where the potential employer is the procrastinator. :frown:

I've been involved with a couple of interview panels, and I haven't been annoyed with calls from interviewees. I understand the tension, and I want to let 'em know the scoop.

The cover letter, the thank you note are all well and good, but it all comes down to is --

How well you interview.

Working with computers, and I'm sure it works with other disciplines, you will make it or fail based on how you handle the "technical interview" and the hypethetical situations.

[archspeed]

Keep cover letter to half a page.

Personally, don't send cover lettter unless the employment ads state so. Since a lot of my application are done online, my email message itself doubles as the cover letter. Just keep it short and to the point.

Remember, alot of the big companies will just scan your resume to stuff into their database, most would not bother reading your resume until the time comes that you have qualities matching their preferred positions.

As for thank you letter. It is a MUST after ANY interview. Do it ASAP. I'm talking like about an hour or two hours after the interview. It should be the first thing to do after the interview, this way the interview people will stilll have you fresh in their minds. And when you write the thank you letter, you can afford to be a bit personable. KNOW THE INTERVIEWERS' NAMES!

And it doesn't hurt at all if you play the "boost their ego" game a bit, just don't overdo it. Something like this would work out ok: "Thank you and I eagerly look forward to learning from professionals in the fields such as you." Just a simple statement telling them that you recognize their expertise in the field you are applying to, and by saying you're looking to learn from them is telling them that they are of some worth in this world (everyone likes to be seen as having some worth, and loves being respected by younger ones).

The only thing I can recommend in the interview for an internship is to be honest. Tell them your goals. Be assertive, but at the same time, you need to be able to show your intensity for the job. You have to make the interviewer feel like you "want the job because you like it", not just because you get paid a certain amount or that it would get you experience.

Of course, it also depends. If you're interning for McDonalds, obviously you don't need to show much intensity, however you burger-flipping skills must be at the highest level yo!