Request for Summer Internship Ideas

Parent Cafe
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<p>Hi Parents,</p>

<p>It’s been a while since I’ve been on – you know, with the whole college thing and all. I’ve glanced at CC once or twice a month but never really had time to really read any of the posts in depth. But I do need a bit of advice and guidance on summer internships, and any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>For the past few months, I’ve been interning for a somewhat well-known Member of Congress and I will continue to do so for the Spring semester. I enjoy my internship greatly – there’s hardly a dull day and I can only think of one or two days when I’ve done “standard” intern tasks (mail sorting, answering the phones, etc). </p>

<p>However, I would like to explore other internship opportunities for the summer ahead. Granted, it is December and I should really be thinking about home and finals, but many internships have rather early deadlines and I fear I cannot complete applications at the start of the Spring semester. I’d like to set aside next semester for schoolwork and my current internship, with some peace of mind that I have an exciting internship awaiting me at the end of the tunnel.</p>

<p>… A bit of a problem, however. I can’t think of anywhere to intern. I have a general interest in public policy, civil and criminal law, international diplomacy – generally, the political field. I applied to college knowing exactly what my four-years of undergraduate study and my postgraduate plan looked like, and then freshman year put those plans to a screeching halt. I now no longer have a clue as to what I want to do with my life. Since internships are a great way to experiment and gain hands-on experience in a field, I figure now’s a good a time as any to do some career research.</p>

<p>… yet, I don’t have any idea as to where to apply. I’ve looked at lobbying, but most major lobbying firms such as Preston-Gates-Ellis or DLA Piper don’t have formalized internship programs. What programs they do have I imagine are either reserved for 1L/2L law students or are mostly clerical tasks. I have no problem with the latter; although I would greatly prefer something that allows hands-on work. I do have an application pending at the State Department, but those internship programs are very competitive, and I’m readying myself for a contingency.</p>

<p>In your experience, what summer internship programs are the “best”? – I realize this is a very general and subjective question, but I’m looking for an internship (or internships) that are substantive and require a modicum of creativity and where I can put both my prior work experience and academic knowledge to use. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, and your thoughts are welcome.</p>

<p>Thanks so much.</p>

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<p>tlak…great to hear from you. </p>

<p>What was it about freshman year that derailed your longstanding ambitions? Do tell.</p>

<p>If you are working for a well known member of congress, you are sitting on your best resource for a summer internship. Decide what you want to do and then ask your bosses and/or your older colleagues if they know the best way to go about getting a job on such and such committee. Boomers love to help make connections. Make them happy! Let them introduce you! (Actually, asking advice works on any age group).</p>

<p>As for internship possibilities…think about some of the congressional committees that revolve around your public policy and foreign policy interests. A full summer internship will be a great resume builder–and even though you don’t know what you want to do–buidling a great CV will help you get there faster when you do decide what you want to do, LOL. Pick a committee and then see if you can’t find someone in your office to help you get a summer internship on that committee. If you really make an impression over these next few months, you could get hired as a staffer. It happens. </p>

<p>Don’t assume lobbying firms don’t need you–ask your bosses and teachers if they know any firms that might be interested in hiring a young gun. Ask, ask, ask. You will be amazed what you get when you ask. Keep this lesson in mind every time you are looking for work of any sort. We got our first project in a foreign country by asking the bank clerk in week 1 if he knew where we could get architecture work. He introduced us to another bank clerk who introduced us to a client who gave us a $2M job in week 4 of our arrival. It happens.</p>

<p>Reading your interests listed above and knowing your cyber-interests before SFS, I’d also recommend the ICC in Brussels as a possible future internship–maybe after junior year.
<a href=“http://www.icc-cpi.int/recruitment/cc1g/Rec_admi_Stage.html[/url]”>http://www.icc-cpi.int/recruitment/cc1g/Rec_admi_Stage.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>At first, I thought I’d be shooting for a J.D., go into some field of the law which I would have figured out by the first year of law school. Instead, I was thinking – maybe it would be wiser to pursue a Master’s/Doctorate in international relations, and go from there. In addition, some of my freshman year courses made me rethink what I should even major in – for instance, I discovered I had a strong interest in Catholic-Protestant theology, something I never would have discovered had I not taken my core theology course here at Georgetown.</p>

<p>As of now, I’m thinking of applying for a Masters or a JD after graduation – but also contemplating working a few years in between, or doing night classes. I guess I came to the realization that my academic career wasn’t going to be some sort of carefully-structured, step-by-step road to achieving the job of my dreams. </p>

<p>But thank you for your internship advice! I’ll certainly try and see if any firms have internship programs tucked away somewhere.</p>

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<p>Tlak…don’t think to self: “Must Research Internship Programs”. </p>

<p>That thinking got you to Georgetown SFS but it’s now past it’s use-by date in your life. Don’t confuse yourself with classmates who don’t have your current job. You are in the proverbial candy store on Capital Hill and you must think about “Networking” to get your dream job. Repeat after me: Dream, dream, dream…ask, ask, ask…network, network, network. </p>

<p>The higher you dream, the more mentors you seek, the more daring your networking–the easier it will be to get that dream JD/MA/Career. That’s the pure truth of the matter. My God kid…you are on a rocket to the stratosphere. I can feel it in my gut. Those Jebbies have really come through for you.</p>

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<p>There are a lot of not-for-profits headquartered in DC such as the Sierra Club
Legislative Office, the Environmental Law Institute, Center for International Environmental Law, etc etc. I just named those because I know about them - but there are probably MANY others doing similar soft-lobbying work.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.dcregistry.com/organize.html[/url]”>http://www.dcregistry.com/organize.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Also, do a search on “associations” and Washington DC.</p>

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<p>I always figured you would be at the UN. Does your congressman have any connections there? By definition, he must. Just depends on whether they are direct or indirect. After freshman year you are the low student on the totem pole competing with more experienced students and even grad students for a lot of these spots, so I don’t think you are starting too soon with your search.</p>

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<p>Alas; U.N. internships are for graduate students only. The US mission at the United Nations, for example, may hire undergraduates but the rule of thumb is a graduate student or someone with a Masters.</p>

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<p>tlaktan…great to hear from you and happy you have already been getting great experiences in Georgetown and DC</p>

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<p>If you want to stay in the Washington area, rememebr that it’s full of think tanks and similar nonprofts that have internship programs. But, apropos of

bear in mind that, as noted above, you will be competing with upperclass and even graduate students for some of these, so to gain more experience you may have to take a less-than-exciting internship. Or, as others have said, maybe not, if your networking can pay off.</p>

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<p>You’re a college freshman, correct? As such, you are the low man on the internship totem pole. I’d suggest going after internships with a “safety, match, reach” perspective. The safety would be continuing in your present position - you already know the job, and would have the advantage of a comparatively long tenure at one position. That shows future employers how much the bosses liked you and your work. </p>

<p>As for the reaches and matches, look and ask around, constantly. Your school probably has a coordinator for internships and employment - start there.</p>