Slashdot Mirror
Qualifications for Summer Internships?
DMBeiler asks: "I'm a first year computer-science student, with a lot of computing background. I learned C++ in the curriculum here, but am also familiar with Perl, PHP, and know my way around Linux. I consider myself adept enough to pick up a working knowledge of a language fairly quickly. As an underclassman, with little formal training, do any jobs/internships exist for me, say, over the summer? What do I need to bring to the table to be considered for even a menial position, these days?"
Have you developed good working relationships with your professors and classmates? A lot of the best opportunities at your level will be decided more on who you know than what you know. Make friends and ask around. Good professors will have contacts. You need to start networking and I don't mean the TCP/IP kind. Also check with your schools career center.
1. Technical and business curiosity
2. Solid communication skills
3. A great all-natural rack (and we ain't talkin' servers) and some tight, low-cut clothes
4. A "team-first" attitude!
With that, I'm sure you'll find a great position...
I'll have to agree on the "who do you know" part. A classmate of mine whose first experience with a computer was freshman "Intro to C" got a summer job doing (fairly menial) software development stuff after freshman year. I had been around computers all my life and was fairly good at windoze tech support by then. The only jobs I could land involved either fries, donuts, or valeting in the south Florida summer heat -- even towards the end of my schooling.
If you're plain lucky, you might be able to find something with what you've got. Most likely, though, you're going to find the college-summer job search even harder than your after-college job search -- which itself is no piece of cake.
-J
I thought being an "intern" didn't specifically mean whether the job was real or not or paid or not. All my summer internships during high school and college were paid, except one summer that was a volunteer job. The paid internships were working for a Fortune 500 company and a university actually doing useful work towards their bottom line. Of course, YMMV, as some other interns at these places really were photocopier jockies or gophers. One internship even resulted in a very nice job offer.
.NET experience. In reality, they are hiring interns as a 3-month interview process that is more reliable than a 30 minute chat. Often, a telephone interview is enough to get an offer for an internship.
As far as qualifications go, I think simply being in a relevant degree program is enough. People hiring summer interns don't expect 20 years of
As someone who actively hires interns, a portfolio of work you've done is what sets you apart in my mind. Even if its homework that you are particularly proud of, it can make a difference. If you can network with someone not in HR, that's better than knowing someone in HR. HR can not get you a job, they can only prevent you from getting one, unless you are looking for a job in HR of course...