<p>A college student whom I met yesterday got a nice film-related internship in Beverly Hills by Googling “internship,” and then putting her resume onto the 4th source that came up. She remembered that it was not “internship.com,” but she didn’t remember what the web site was. </p>
<p>“he volunteers’ office referred him to HR, and HR notified him that their internships were already filled (kids of hospital workers? kids through nearby colleges? accounting or nursing majors?)”</p>
<p>Who did he talk to at the volunteer office? He needs to talk to the head of the office, and get that person to call the director of H-R on his behalf. More than likely, some of those prospective interns are going to back out, and your S needs to be first in line. He also needs to remind the volunteer office of his 700 hours, and let them know the important reason why he needs an internship at that location.</p>
<p>And he needs to get a reference letter from the head of the volunteer office – a letter that he can use in applying elsewhere. This letter should provide specifics about what your S did as a volunteer, including what made him special, and what he did to expand his duties.</p>
<p>He also should talk to the head of the volunteer office and ask that person to refer him to specific people at hospitals in the region where your S wishes to work. Your S should ask those people to call on your S’s behalf. That should help open doors for your S. Considering your S has been a longtime volunteer, that’s not an inappropriate favor for your S to ask of the volunteer supervisor.</p>
<p>I am saying the following to help you and your S, not to put him down if he acted like most volunteers. Many students don’t realize that it’s important to stand out as a volunteer by doing more than is required, including by seeing places where you can make a difference, and finding ways of adding those to your volunteer work.</p>
<p>Typically, staff doesn’t have much time to supervise volunteers, so it’s possible that volunteers can spend their time sitting around doing virtually nothing unless they’re assertive about finding things to do. The volunteers who stand out are the ones who are able to see areas where their help is needed, and then incorporate those activities into their volunteer duties. This also can include getting outside organizations, including high school ones, to sponsor fundraising activities. The student volunteers who stand out also get to know staff, for instance asking to shadow staff members who have jobs in careers the volunteers are considering. </p>
<p>The volunteers who do things like this will be the ones first in line for official internships and paid positions even if they haven’t volunteered as long or amassed as many hours as did people who did what they were told, but little else.</p>
<p>And, yes, as you’ve noted, it is very hard to get internships now, even unpaid ones. I imagine that it’s extra hard at places like hospitals because many premed students want such positions, and they are some of the most competitive students at any college. Also, students now need to have had internships in order to get jobs after graduation, and many students need internships to graduate in their majors.</p>
<p>Does PSU not have a career office that helps students get internships? With their large alumni base, they should also be able to refer students to contacts in the students’ prospective fields.</p>
<p>"He also volunteered at an Assisted Living Facility and interned for a US Congressman last summer while holding down a paying job. "</p>
<p>He also should contact the congressmen and head of the assisted living facility for leads getting jobs, and he should get reference letters from all, and include those along with his application letters.</p>
<p>He will get the best reference letters if he either drafts a copy for the person (He can say he’s offering a draft to make it easier on the writer. Most people are busy, and are happy to have that kind of help). In addition to detailing how long he worked there and what his duties were, the letter should mention anything he did that went above and beyond what was required, and that made an impact. He should not expect a letter to have such details unless he provides them in writing to the person writing the reference letter. After all, the supervisor is busy, and your S is likely to remember more what he contributed than the supervisor would remember such things. He also should submit a resume to the people who’ll write his references.</p>
<p>Writing such drafts, too, for people who write one’s references, is common in the professional world.</p>
