IhateCR

Hello all,

I'm a rising second year at UVa thinking about accounting, banking, and consulting. I had a difficult time of looking for internships. I knew that most private firms do not even consider first year so I turned to federal agencies. (I sent out some 50 emails to whatever companies that I heard of and that were around where I live, but none of them replied.) I tried Department of Labor, etc but unfortunately I was not selected by any of them. I seriously do not know why. I have a 3.5 GPA, I have work experience as a clerk in high school, and I'm heavily involved in the Student Council in my school. I have plenty of AP credits and I'm taking hard classes. What is going wrong??

Now I know that most of the internship deadlines have passed. Even if they haven't I have not much chance of getting in anyway based on the past few months experience.

My question is, what can I do in this summer that I can put on my resume and hopefully looks good to future employers?

tenisghs

@ IhateCR

Did you send out cover letters and resumes? Apply on their organization's online application? Include references? Did you describe on your cover letter why you would be a good fit for the organization? Does your resume include your high school activities and awards? You can try and take courses in the summer, do undergraduate research (paid) for a professor or find something at home to do.

IhateCR

Tenisghs,

Thank you very much for reading my post and replying. I have done everything you mentioned to almost every application.
I already applied a lot of back ups, which are not internships but just plain summer job. Ultimately if I really don't get a regular office work, would working as a waiter hurt me?

aworldapart

Not to be a total jerk, but a 3.5 at UVA is not very well-respected. You have to realize that competition for internships are intense. You're applying for jobs where competitors have 4.0s from HYP. That's the bottom line -- it's a tough market.

ijreinsn

1) gpa is too low
2) not much work experience
3) you keep mentioning high school stuff
4) you are in college

that being said, there should be plenty of opportunities working in accounting, especially smaller firms or f500 types. you might have difficulty finding formal summer internships in the field, especially for banking or consulting since recruiting is over, but there are many less formal internships available where you will handle tasks on a more ad-hoc basis. i live in the la region, and i know there are plenty of companies that hire interns in these types of roles, paramount pictures, warner brothers, etc

not the most glamorous jobs, might do some of the simpler financial analysis, reconciliations, manual labor, and other menial tasks, but it should be good enough if all you want is to get your feet wet.

tenisghs

@ ijreinsn

There is nothing wrong with mentioning high school activities and awards in addition to your college extracurriculars. Most employers realize that college students don't have extensive work experience like more experienced/mid-level employees. List anything that will stand you out from the rest.

IhateCR

aworldapart: Thanks for the comment. I'll try to pull my GPA up a bit. I'm aiming for 3.7 this semester. But I never mentioned that I applied to any major consulting, IB, or even Big 4 firm. My question is that A LOT of other "easier" internships rejected me.

ijreinsn: Thank you so much for the recommendation! I'm very actively looking for internships that are still available now. Do you have any suggestion of where I can find these opportunities more efficiently?

Thank you everyone who has left comments!

ijreinsn

well, i would say that the best resource is your schools career website that lists internships and jobs for current students.

apart from that, talk to some alumni for "informational interviews" and stuff, but do not ask directly for an internship, but if you hint that you are still looking, they are often willing to forward your resume to human resources.

apart from that, the usual sites monster.com, simplyhired.com, hotjobs, but those aren't as good.

and don't worry, i have been rejected by some pretty damn ****ty places if i do say so myself and like most ****ty places still reject me, but i have also interviewed at places like goldman and other investment banks so yeah. ****ty firms are strange sometimes.

aworldapart

Have you tried networking? To my understanding, UVA's alum network is huge. I'm sure they'd love to help out a fellow Cavalier.

kelseyg

Try to get more college-based activities you can put on your resume so you don't need to resort to citing high school ones.

I don't know if you've gotten any interviews, but remember to send a follow-up thank you note if you do.

Stillers06

Hey, I had the same problem as you. I am also a rising junior majoring in finance at WVU with a 3.5. It is a little late now but a lot of firms are looking for Sophomores for leadership training sessions. This looks really good on resumes and you are put into consideration for an internship the following year. My roommate and I were considered for one by Ernst and Young, but his resume was a little bit stronger and he ended up landing it.

However, I found a campus rep. position with Dell that I am applying for internship credits. I know it has nothing to do with Finance and is more geared toward marketing, but I found one of my biggest problems when applying for jobs was I didn't have any experience.

Also, for the guy who said a 3.5 at UVA is not very well respected doesn't know what he is talking about. Your GPA is solid and will put you into consideration for internships. Networking is HUGE, I have had some of my family members looking around for me, maybe you should try the same.