That’s a fair concern.
Has he applied wide geographically? Has he has his resume reviewed, done mock interviews?
Has he gotten traction - with interviews at least?
Has he applied to 3 internships daily, so over 100+ overall?
There’s always people hiring “late” - someone fell out.
Or perhaps he could do research for a professor - not as good if he wants a career - but better than nothing.
I’m interested. How much time do you expect a kid to set aside to do this? 30 mins per application? 1 hour per application? Would you suggest a kid takes a lighter class load in spring of junior year to free up enough time?
Just trying to prepare for my youngest since this was not relevant to my older two (S got literally every job he applied to, so only wrote 1 or 2 applications a year, while D was just doing dance programs in the summer).
We told our D24 to start networking as soon as she gets into college. She understands it’s important to find career mentors, attend networking events, and build her resume ASAP.
Her first professional internship was at KPMG after her junior year in HS.
This will depend on the major (and of course, on the state of the economy), but last fall my CS daughter spent about an hour or two a week (total, not necessarily contiguous) looking for roles that she was interested in and were a good fit based on her skills. She typically applied to 2 or 3 jobs a week. Some took just 5 minutes to apply (create login, upload resume, answer some standard questions, submit) while a few took 30-60 minutes to complete. She submitted about 30+ applications in all, received an interview request from 4, and offers from 2 of them.
She started looking in mid September which is a bit late for certain sectors, so this summer she’ll start looking in June.
You might also check the timeframe-some industries recruit in fall, some in spring, some well over a year ahead of time. I knew kids who cancelled study abroad if they had not secured a job before they left the country. The career center should know.
@DadOfJerseyGirl’s experience sounds pretty typical. Many resumes go out; she will hear back from only some.
You actually get on a roll - I’ve done a few with my kids. 10 mins or so per.
It’s rinse and repeat for most. Occasionally you get a lucky - attach your resume, answer a few questions and done.
But most are upload your resume - you have to go in and clean up formatting, etc. because they aren’t using your resume. They’re using their profile and the resume doesn’t always go in nicely. Fill in dates - then they all ask the same questions after - about ethnicity, disability, veteran service.
As my son says, easily over half use the same software - so you get into a routine.
Also, if you apply to a 2nd or 3rd at the same place, your profile is loaded so then it’s just answering a few questions.
Personally, I wish - just like there’s a common app - that there could be a common app of jobs - where all your main info would be filled in. It would save all applicants time.
Others have noted as well - for someone to get an internship, you have to go hard. Spread your wings, application wise - even though it’s not necessarily efficient. That’s geographically speaking too - it’s 10-12 weeks, the where doesn’t matter. Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming? Great. It’s a job on the resume. Doesn’t have to be the exact industry a student wants…or frankly even close. Major wise - yes, hopefully is seeking an engineering student although the job might not be engineering.
While not efficient it’s been effective by those I know including some on this website who have publicly or privately said it’s how their kid got - assuming the resume is sufficient (with the right key words), hence the suggestion to ensure it was approved, etc. Some kids may get interviews btw, but not do well - hence I asked about mock.
We don’t know where or why the student struggled - but, of course, the process for anyone - isn’t easy.
I imagine major or desire might play a part too.
Good luck.
The entire process starts so much earlier, and involves more applications, than it used to. Frosh year is not too early to start looking for junior internships in some fields
I was helping my daughter’s BF (wanted to be in wealth management) and 3-4 months ago, companies were recruiting for 2025 grads (not internships but jobs).
It’s crazy.
A family friend just started with an investment bank in Texas - and his background check alone was two months - which makes zero sense to me.
But the world is different for sure!!
A couple of suggestions- ignore if they are not helpful.
1- Set up a meeting with career services at his U. Ask for brutal honesty about his resume. If something is off, they’ll spot it.
2- Set up TWO meetings in the EE department- one with his favorite professor, one with the department chair. Explain his predicament while reviewing his resume. He will have three “asks” for them- #1- if they are aware of any need within the university itself requiring someone with his skills, could they put him in front of the decision-makers. #2- if they have a former student, colleague, or industry contact working in ANYTHING at all relevant, can they do an email introduction… this should yield 5-6 solid networking opportunities. #3- if he needs to pivot academically in order to make sure he’s heading towards a satisfying career- what should he be thinking about? So maybe it’s more applied math/data science. Maybe it’s another econ class (companies love engineers even for non-engineering roles). Maybe it’s a two course sequence in Operations/Supply Chain. Not suggesting he abandon EE, just broadening the base a little bit in the time he has left in college.
3-Encourage him to join every relevant professional association-- they usually have a student rate and sometimes his department will have the funds to help subsidize a membership. Many of them have “closed” job and internship postings- closed in the sense that they are not on Handshake or Linkedin… the companies are narrowly targeting the membership of these associations. A company can post on Linkedin and get 750 applications in three days- virtually NONE of them qualified. Post the same role on an association job board, you’ll get 14 applications in three days, but 13 of them will be qualified. So narrowcasting works for the company AND works for the student.
Good luck… What are his backup plans for the summer???
Here is an interesting perspective that is somewhat relevant to this thread.
Thanks for the helpful replies regarding my s’s situation. I should elaborate that we are in Canada and the employment landscape here at the moment is not very robust. Many students are struggling to secure internships. In my s’s specific case, he will continue applying for internship positions with the hope that those in the fall will be less competitive than for the summer. In the meantime he will be taking a few courses over the summer and working part-time in a regular “student summer job”.
There is nothing wrong with a regular type job, and of course there is nothing wrong with taking classes.
But my advice still stands, regardless of where he is at university. Professors are a frequently untapped source of leads, on-ramps, professional networks. And depending on what he means by “applying” (if he’s sending off his resume in response to every rando internship he sees on Handshake or a similar platform the odds of success are very, very low) it might be time to shift gears and do something else.
And if even one of his professors has just landed a grant for a project, or is finishing up writing a book or about to submit a paper to a journal but needs an engineering-savvy student for fact-checking, indexing, working with an illustrator on the technical diagrams, etc.- he could strike gold quickly.
One of my kids landed a job with a professor- not just modestly under-qualified for the job but significantly under-qualified. I asked 'how did that happen?" and the answer was-- “I was there”. Kid had shown up at office hours with a question about the final research paper, kid about to leave, professor asks “what are you doing this summer?” and the answer was “going back to my HS summer job which I hate” and voila- very cool summer job which paid enough to justify staying on campus and paying rent (vs. living at home for free). Professor didn’t have the bandwidth to write a job description, get the job posted on the intranet for grad students and staff, get the salary approved by HR, conduct interviews, etc. Just wanted it over and done. So- over and done! And anyone who has taught your son will know what a quick study he is!
Good luck to him…
Agree. When my daughter went to grad school in China, she had a hard time finding an internship on her own. She ended up getting a prestigious internship through one of her professors. The professor called up his contact who ran the international org and recommended he give her an internship. Brief interview later and she had an internship that worked out really well.
Getting in on summer research is valuable even if unpaid. Usually flexible on hours so could fit in with other work. Research on resumes checks several boxes.
Just a quick educational note. The purpose of most ATS systems (Applicant Tracking) is NOT to save applicants time. AT ALL. There are several leading systems in use by most big companies, and each of them has positives and negatives (like any other large system). A company which has a huge overseas footprint likely has different needs than a company which is predominantly US based with maybe a customer service operation in Dublin and some back office functions in Mumbai.
If you or your kids take the attitude that each and every step along the way to getting a job needs to be optimized for your OWN needs- you are going to have a rude awakening. Many college kids right now are taking a massive and deep scattershot approach to their job search- sending out application after application, whether or not they are remotely qualified for the roles they are applying for. So making it EASIER for more people to apply to MORE jobs-- really not a corporate priority.
Teach your kids to be savvy about the job search. Google and Career Services is your friend.
And if the specific company application process asks for a resume to be uploaded- make sure Career Services at your kids college has OK’d the resume. I see resumes with 8 point type-- ugh. Resumes with weird graphics and logos (you interned at the NFL last summer-- you don’t need to put the logo of the NFL on your resume. I promise you everyone knows what the NFL is without the “branding” reminder. Etc.) And my absolute favorite- NO CONTACT INFORMATION. Seriously- no email, no phone number, no physical address. Sorry, I’m not taking 20 minutes to track you down-- I’m a recruiter, not a private detective or FBI agent.
Rant over. Teaching moment!
My kids, are and were, I think savvy. One is employed. The other has had two internships. Both had many opportunities to choose from. And fortunately, were relevant to their desires although, especially the first internship needn’t be. My daughter has discovered what she doesn’t want (a desk job) - so while she didn’t love her work - lots of writing at the think tank - it was a wonderful experience. Working for the state was the one where you kept hoping for more but it didn’t seem well supported. Those happen too.
Yes, no one does things for the audience, they do for themselves (i.e. the companies). That’s for their clients too - at least my firsm - unfortunately.
I said I wish. I know it’s not reality.
My kids ensured in the skills section that they put in words that might resonate with the company’s AI search.
The way I see it - it’s just like when I was in outside sales.
Every no is one step closer to a yes. In the end, the game is rigged - some company’s always have a posting with no intention to hire. Others may have someone identified or tapped.
There’s really no way to know.
People find jobs in different ways. The schools that list the sources of jobs - Cornell, Denver, etc show that.
Whatever works for each kid - if they get an opportunity, then it was good.
My D got her first engineering job this way. Her professor knew a principal at the firm and recommended she apply there for an internship and that led to an offer upon graduation. Great job too.
Did he get a second offer…or is he happy with the first one.
He has not gotten another that I’m aware of - at this minute.
I think he’s happy with the duties.
And he’s happy that a fraternity brother he skis with is their 2nd recruit.
I think he is not happy with the compensation and he’s hearing similar from those getting jobs. Perhaps #s are down - or it’s the organizations.
Don’t know enough yet.
If the Tampa kid can’t find an accounting job they’re officially unemployable as that industry is extremely desperate for new hires.