minz

Hi all,

I have a question about applying to software engineering internships. I don't have much experience because I was fortunate enough to get a position at a good company last summer. This time, not so lucky.

I've applied to about 40 companies so far, to some that's a lot, but keep in mind there are a lot of opportunities out there for software engineering. My interest is more front-end/web development, so I focused more on web-based startups rather than bigger corporations (but I still applied nonetheless).

I've gotten call backs for more interviews with a handful of those companies, 5 or 6. However, one recently just told me no (my experience is great but they can't match me with anything opened right now... sort of a generic response). Is it possible they might contact me if their headcount falls short later in the spring? Another way of putting this is - should I expect to never hear from them regarding a summer 2013 internship or there might be a small small chance that I'll get reconsidered?

Thanks

soconfusedgrad

Hi minz,

It must be frustrating to apply to so many, yet not able to get any concrete offers. However, if you are looking for internships, the bulk of the recruiting processes do not start until winter/spring. I wouldn't get discourage yet, if at all! You seem like you have a clear idea of what you would like to do, and what kind of companies you want to work for.

Keep your eyes out for career fairs, or start-up fairs. Have you tried reaching out to your company from last summer? Companies right now are very occupied with hunting down soon to be grads. So do not worry if you are not hearing positive responses at the moment. You will definitely find something for the summer.

Which brings me to my final point, enjoy your school year. Internship hunting shouldn't take up your entire school year

Best

terenc

Agreed, it is rather early to be applying. The companies telling you that there isn't a position open yet are probably being truthful because it is really too early to tell for them. You should directly follow up with them in February or so. Don't rely on them to contact you again - they probably will forget.

BTW, are you mostly applying to companies in SoCal?

In the meantime, keep working on personal / side projects, because that's what startups like to see - a portfolio of past work.

minz

Hi again.

Thanks for those words, that's really good to hear. soconfusedgrad, yes I did reach out to the company I worked for last summer, and I will talk to them more in the upcoming months. Right now, I'm not sure whether that company is somewhere I want to be in the future, so I'm not putting that as a priority.

terenc, no, a lot of the companies I applied to are located in the Bay/Silicon Valley, as you know, that's where the start-ups are. Actually, I am having a lot of trouble finding tech companies in LA area, but I'd prefer to be in the bay over the summer since I live in NorCal. I agree that I need to pro-active in my internship search, and I'll definitely re-evaluate my qualifications and do follow ups as needed.

With school, it is not easy to find time to do personal projects in the past semester. This semester I'm doing myself a favor and took on a lighter load, which allowed me to start on my personal projects. It'll see how much self-discipline I have to push them to a presentable stage by the next semester

syed2011

Hello Minz,

As you are doing projects related to your job search, you can gain complete knowledge over it and can perform well in the interview!!

Good Luck!!

minz

Hi all,

Thanks for your comments, I really appreciate it.

So I have a new question that came up... I'm not sure how to proceed with it. I was scheduled a phone interview on Tuesday with a company I would love to work for. This is a start up and the interviewer works out of the NY office (they have office in the Bay as well). However, he forgot to call me. At first, I thought the recruiter messed up the time zone since I'm on the west coast and he's on the east coast. I immediately sent the recruiter an email and asked her what had happened (maybe emergency) etc. The recruiter replied, only saying that it was a mix-up, and have not proposed a new time for my next interview.

Usually the delay in response is ok, but it is finals week soon and I have told her that my only available day is Friday (which is 2 days away).

What should I do? Should I ask the interviewer what happened? Should I call them out on it? Should I take this company seriously? I really enjoyed speaking with the initial interviewer and had a great impression of the company... until now.

Thanks!