The Career Services Team at Rasmussen College have put together this handy guide, just in time for your Fall internship interviews!

What do you think?

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Katie Johnson​ is a student at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, a frequent tweeter (@kjon) and a Voices Contributor at NextGen Journal.

By Katie Johnson

Securing an internship during my freshman year was probably one of the most rewarding and interesting experiences of my college career thus far. Let me start out by saying this: I’m an overachiever.  My freshman year I aimed to maintain good grades and to be involved with everything.  While attending the student activities fair, I jumped at the opportunity to join clubs; signing my name and e-mail address onto nearly every organization’s clipboard, talking to various student leaders, and of course, enjoying all of the free candy, goldfish, and potted plants (Yes, there were free potted plants!). Getting involved was the best thing I could have done.

Through student senate, Katie was able to go on a trip to Washington, DC

I ended up running for the freshman position on student senate… and won.  This was a great opportunity in itself because it helped me to understand and appreciate my school on many different levels; learning the university budgeting process, getting to know faculty, and helping promote different cultures through diversity organizations.  Through student senate, I even was fortunate enough to go to Washington D.C., serving as a delegate to the United States Student Association (USSA) from my school.

In early spring, I wore out my computer searching for internships.

Ultimately this, and my involvement in activities from high school, helped me build up an attractive resume, and led to my strength as a candidate for an internship. In early spring, I wore out my computer searching for internships.  As a political science major, I was at first overwhelmed by the sheer number of opportunities that are out there, but I narrowed my search down and later applied for about five. After many letters, e-mail follow-ups, and a couple of phone interviews, I eventually landed an internship in mid-April for a Congressman from my home district.  I chose to intern locally: Washington D.C. is an expensive place to live, and living on your own in another city is an incredible responsibility, one which I felt I was not ready for at the time.

Interning in a Congressional office was very different from any jobs or volunteer experiences that I’ve had in the past.  I learned to deal with all sorts of people (constituents), both extremely pleased and extremely angry while answering office phones.  I also learned valuable office skills, which I am certain will help me in future internships.  I realized that even the most monotonous job is important because every little task contributes to the overall workings of the office. Interns do more than just lick envelopes and make coffee!

I would encourage other students to follow their passions.  It is important to start somewhere and I believe extracurricular involvement and internships are just the beginning.

Extracurricular’s are a great way to start building your resume as a freshman! What advice would you share with freshmen who are unsure about interning freshman year?

Vanessa Stella (@VanessaCStella) is a recent marketing graduate from Philadelphia University.

By Vanessa Stella

I headed into my senior year of college with my eyes wide open, determined to find, or at least have some prospects for, a solid post-graduate opportunity for employment. I started my search early in the fall semester by targeting some nearby companies, doing research online, and stopping into my school’s Career Services office to get my resume critiqued and to attend some sessions on interviewing tips and cover letter writing. By the time our first networking event rolled around mid-September, I was ready to get out there and meet some prospective employers.

There was one company’s hiring manager attending that night that I definitely wanted to talk to and I ended up making a great connection with her. She and I talked about the company and the candidates they were looking for, and it all sounded pretty great… until she told me they were only looking for summer interns. I took that news as well as I do a good punch in the gut, but I handed her my resume and we agreed to stay in touch.

…it all sounded pretty great… until she told me they were only looking for summer interns.

Summer interns? What a bummer. I was looking for a permanent, full-time, salaried Marketing position, not another summer internship. Hello, I’m going to be a graduate! But the more I thought about it, a paid summer internship may not be such a bad idea after all. I could still earn some money while gaining great experience, have some new skills to put on my resume and maybe even get hired there full-time. So, I was open to it…

I stayed in touch with the hiring manager but continued to look for other positions over the course of the next few months. When nothing definite came up after some time, I set up a phone interview for the summer internship and was called back shortly after for an in-person interview. Little did I know what a serious interviewing process was in store for me. The process took almost 3 hours and consisted of 2 separate interviews with the hiring manager and a department heads, a Predictive Index personality/behavioral test and a skills test (with math problems! Yikes!). Apparently my math skills were up to par, because a week later, I had an offer in hand for the summer internship, with an additional note saying that the internship would have an “open end date”. Bingo! That meant I had a good chance of being taken on full time after just a few months.

After about 3 months of working hard, sharpening my skills and giving them my best, I found myself in the interview room again, but this time for a permanent position.

In the end, that’s exactly what happened. I accepted the offer for the summer internship and began working there right after graduation. After about 3 months of working hard, sharpening my skills and giving them my best, I found myself in the interview room again, but this time for a permanent position. A few hours after the interview, I had an offer in hand for that permanent, full-time, salaried Marketing position I was so focused on finding in the fall semester. What was initially somewhat of a let-down to still be considered an “intern” post-graduation turned out to be the ideal spot to launch me into a career.

Lesson learned: don’t be a post-grad intern-hater. Take any experiences offered to you as a stepping stone for what may eventually be the start to your career!