It’s the middle of May and exams are finally winding down for most college students. Graduation ceremonies are taking place across the country.  Students are heading home or to a destination city for the summer break. Many of them have internships that were secured in January or April. What about you?

In my internship coaching practice, I always advise students to start the search process early. Sometimes life ( exams, classes, illness, family) gets in the way of our best intentions. The good news is that you can very likely still find an internship in the middle or end of May.

Every day I meet small business owners who are interested in hiring an intern.  It might be their first experience so many of them aren’t aware of the need to post their positions in the winter or early spring. In addition, I am always pleasantly surprised to see even a few other opportunities popping up at larger brand name companies in May.

Here’s your plan to find an internship now:

• Make sure your resume and online profiles sparkle and professionally represent you for a prospective employer.

• Tap your college resources. Even though exams are ending, most of the college and university Career Services teams are still hard at work in the summer.

• Leverage your personal network. This is usually the very best way to find an internship or new job. It’s true in January and in May. Spend 80% of your time expanding your connections and meeting new people.

• Tap your social network. Make sure you are following, connecting and networking with a targeted list of employers and your college career officers.

It’s also a good idea to create a Plan B. This requires you to broaden your thinking about your summer work experiences. The point is to keep learning and try to gain some work experience, so it doesn’t have to be an internship. Some great examples: If you are interested in marketing or journalism- start blogging; If you are interested in social media and sports- start and manage a Facebook community for your favorite basketball team. If you are interested in the environment or nutrition or finance – find a local organization that you can volunteer with. Create a project. Take a class. Volunteer. Do some community service.

Network and attend an industry event.  Meet a local community leader in your hometown and ask for suggestions. The more you are out engaging with others, the more likely you will find an experience to make your summer very worthwhile.

What are your ideas to find the right summer experience?

© Copyright 2013. Sandra Long. All rights reserved.