<p>What is the best way to get one? Apply online? or go to Career fairs and talk to the reps? or it doesnt matter…</p>
<p>im a chemical engineer btw</p>
<p>Process / best ways to land an internship in engineering: </p>
<ul>
<li>Have an idea of which companies to pursue (which means creating a list, attending infosessions, find out which ones fit you and you have interest in)</li>
<li>Have previous internship experience</li>
<li>Have connections – though this is “unfair” as an unqualified candidiate is taking a job from a scholarly candidate</li>
<li>Have research experience</li>
<li>Have high interest in the requisition appliying for</li>
<li>Have a wide range of technical skills – knowledge of industrial programs, such as MATLAB (general engineer), computer programs (CS, CSE, EECS), design programs (CEE, MAE), finite element analysis program (some for MAE, CEE, architecture), business software is a plus (SAP) </li>
<li>Meet the minimum requirements (skills, coursework, can communicate in English)</li>
<li>Perform well in all rounds of interviews</li>
<li>Are part of NSBE, SHPE, SOLES or other minority engineering group</li>
<li>Persistence – somewhat too long to type out, only will type out upon request</li>
</ul>
<p>I think one of the key factors is discovering your passion and finding the perfect match. Lots of resumes get submitted and aren’t even close to being a match for the requisition. Make sure your skills and objectives are close to matching the requisition description. </p>
<p>The next most important area is the interview. You should really know what the position requires, roughly what you will be performing, and you should know about the company culture. Do not show up to the interview asking the interviewer to tell you more about the internship position. You should already know, or else that is not the summer job for you. Having a few things to talk about is also important. I hate the “So … tell me about yourself” question, but you have to be “prepared” with a quasi-speech to introduce yourself, how you are qualified, and why you want the internship. You should be able to answer this question to me (5-10 minutes) impromptu. YES, RIGHT NOW! 
If you can’t, work on it.</p>
<p>Another important aspect is to always remember what you learn. You WILL be tested at interviews, but not all the time. Some companies like to focus on interpersonal and communication skills at the first interview level. Just don’t be nervous and you’ll be fine. I have been tested at least 3 times from coursework problems and 1 technical project-scenario session. Literally, I entered the room and was asked to complete engineering problems from physics, mechanics, heat transfer, scientists, anything you probably learned in college. It sucks, but don’t forget the important things you learn and review the basics if you have to. (Like for a Chem E question, why are fins important in a heat exchanger?)</p>
<p>Internships are challenging to land, especially at large well known companies. At Boeing, one requisition may have 1100 applications for one (1) internship position! You are encouraged to apply online and find the perfect match based on experience and skills.</p>
<p>As for the going to career fairs and talking to the HR representatives, those won’t land you one immediately. In my opinion, they are only best to help you answer your questions about the company and lead you to the application website. The HRs are not the hiring managers, so they will not get you in (though they will view your application and can eliminate your application before handing off to the hiring managers). Just submit your resume to the representative, and it will get scanned to the database. The only good thing about these career fairs is that if they feel you are an exceptional candidate (based on academic merit, skills, and potential to contribute), your resume will be “on the top” of the pile of resumes, which will get viewed before the ones submitted online.</p>
<p>As for now, do apply online to the companies on your list. Just note that anywhere you submit a resume (in person or online), there are chances that they never will be viewed. It’s never too late to do so, since internship interviews begin in around February/March. Some companies have already selected interns for summer '09, so get started if you haven’t. If you don’t know where to start, look at Bruinview for some openings for internships. They have lots of small firms when you search, which could be attractive if your GPA isn’t stellar or you just want to start out at a small firm.</p>
<p>Hope this was helpful.</p>
<p>Boelter pretty much summed up everything you need to know.</p>
<p>I went to the career fair this year on the other side (recruiting), and felt the difference. Many times, people just want a job, so they don’t research the company they are looking into (shotgun approach, let me toss my resumes to as many companies as possible). The company can usually hire as many people as they want, the question is, what separates you from candidate x, y, z? It breaks down to why should we hire you? </p>
<p>From a ChemE perspective:
Don’t worry if you don’t get much internships. Most people are offered internships end of junior year (the real ChemE ones, not lab slave). </p>
<p>When you are a good candidate, they usually do round table of interviews. 1st interview is usually just to get to know you, no technical or communication skills question. 2nd interview is usually the technical and communication skills (I was tested on some o-chem, some fluid dynamics, some process questions).</p>
<p>Go talk to Mr. Beard. He’s always there Tuesday/Thursday? He’s the liason, you should get to know him, real nice guy. </p>
<p>Fins and HEXs:
Hicks: "Class, it’s so hot in here, what should I do to lower the temperature? (He walks towards the thermostat to lower the temp)
Class: “Put some cooling fins on you”</p>
<p>Oh yeah, you’ll definitely will run into Bill Beard. You guys are lucky that your department has someone to review your resumes and connect you with people in the industry.</p>
<p>Office Space Theme
(Damn, it feels good to be a Chem-E)</p>
<p>Also, go to AICHE meetings. Over half the good jobs are from AICHE. I talked to the current president of AICHE and she’s including more companies and membership is free for lower classman I think.</p>
<p>This year I was surprised they got Accenture and Jacobs for their career fair.</p>