Summer internships without previous jobs/experience

bluebubbles · 06-14-2009, 05:26 PM

Hey everyone,

I'm a bit worried. I'd love to get some kind of an internship in government, foreign affairs, economics, or anything related next summer but I'm not sure how qualified I would be. You see, in HS I was always extremely active in my school extracurriculars but I've never had a real job or internship outside school. Will this hurt me when I look around next summer? What are some ways I can make up for it?

I will start my freshman year this fall.

Thanks for your help!

jdp349 · 06-15-2009, 10:20 PM

The summer is still young, go get a job. If not this summer then do so during the school year. Schools typically offer some sort of work study, I'd look into that as well.

Also it depends on what kind of EC's you're talking about. Are they the same typical "held multiple bake sales to raise money for AIDS orphans with national honors society" BS that only matters for college apps or something more substantial?

Ray192 · 06-15-2009, 10:49 PM

I just got a job researching international conflict for this important data set. I had no experience with this type of research, and I have barely taken any coursework on the subject. But I came in, wowed the professor with my knowledge of military history, and asked a lot of great questions on how the research team handled various roadblocks. She was impressed and gave me a job.

Show your stuff during the interview and it will be a lot easier. If you want a social science type thing, read a lot of material so you go in with a lot of innate knowledge, and also spend some time thinking about problems that arise during research and how to address them. I think these qualities will help you impress employers/professors involved with research.

bluebubbles · 06-19-2009, 01:00 PM

No my ECs were fairly substantial, for high school standards I guess. Student government president and several large fundraisers (raising several thousand dollars) and such.

I'm moving to another country in three weeks (terrible, terrible timing, mom and dad) so I'm going to try to find some kind of a job there but I don't know if I'll find anything since I'm assuming all the summer jobs have been filled by the local kids.

There is a high probability that I not do anything over the summer, except for volunteer work.

Spin · 06-22-2009, 02:21 AM

Are you talking about an internship for next summer? If so, I wouldn't be too worried about it right now, you still have plenty of time to find employment during the year or something. Did you have any ECs related to government/foreign affairs/econ/etc?

By the way, I'm assuming that by moving to another country, you mean outside the US, yeah?

collegehopeful21 · 06-24-2009, 02:13 AM

Hi blue,
I currently just finished my freshman year in college and currently have an internship right now at fairly well known agency near my home. That being said (although I strongly regret it) I didn't do anything EC related my first year but I mean I was still exploring college. However, I did have related ecs in high school that I put on my resume. pPoint is I was still able to score an internship with no job experience whatsoever but I was really lucky. And I think a key to this is aiming for smaller agency that arent super strict with their interns.

bluebubbles · 06-25-2009, 09:24 AM

Okay, thanks, collegehopeful! I'll check with smaller firms.

bluebubbles · 06-29-2009, 06:54 AM

And spin, yes, I'm moving from one country in Europe to another.

A LOT of my ECs were devoted to what you said as well.

Spin · 06-29-2009, 12:59 PM

I would highly recommend working with your school to get into programs that will look impressive on your resume. For example, I currently have an internship at a nanotechnology company, which I largely landed because I participated in a research program (where I worked with nanotech) through my school, since I don't have any real job experience either.

Talk to your professors about some places that you can get more "job skills" in those fields. If there are any special programs, your ECs from high school will probably help a lot. Also, if you've ever worked on a campaign or something, that'd be really nice.

As an aside, there are also a lot of scholarships and essay writing contests regarding those fields. If you're looking for alternative methods of boosting your resume, that might be a good option. Just look them up on FastWeb.

BPKO43 · 06-29-2009, 01:49 PM

Network, network, network. Knowing someone who can put in a good word for you is arguably the best thing you can do to advance your position here.

bluebubbles · 06-29-2009, 04:15 PM

Thanks, spin and BP! Great idea...essay contests...hmm...and yea, my plan is to get involved in any kind of research/work study under my professors ASAP. I don't need to work at the World Bank or the UN next summer, so hopefully it'll be enough for a target internship.