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A Few Tips for Finding Internships

I. Figure out what you are searching for.

First, ask yourself:

What are you passionate about? What types of activities energize you?
Look for clues from past work experience

Next, do a little digging:

To explore fields you think are interesting and to find related internships, go to O*Net .

If "I don't know" is the answer, come to the Career Center for help.

II. Network (75-80% of jobs are never posted to the public):

With whom to network:

Friends of parents and parents of friends
College connections: Faculty, Hanover College alumni, Greek alumni/ae
Volunteer or employment supervisors, co-workers
Members of your clubs, church, extracurricular activities, etc.

How to network:

Have your resume up-to-date and ready to share (come to the Career Center for a guide and a critique).
Practice a short (1-2 minute) summary describing the internship you hope to find.
Make a priority list of the people above with phone numbers or email addresses. Start by calling people with whom you're comfortable. Do your homework before you call and remember things that are important to them.
First build rapport, then tell your contact that you're looking for an internship, giving your short goal summary.

Ask them:

- if they'd be willing to share their expertise as you look for an internship;
- to suggest people whom you might contact about openings;
- for their permission to use their names when contacting those whom they had suggested.

Keep a careful log of contacts. Follow-up. Be polite. Send thank you notes. Stay in your time limits.

III. Come to the Career Center:

Ask us for a printout of Hanover alumni contact lists for your field!
Log onto NACElink. (If you need help with username or password, call 7127.)
On-campus recruiting sometimes includes internship opportunities.
Watch for openings in the weekly Career Currents: Hot Off the Press.
Use the internship database to learn where past Hanover students have interned and take advantage of internship books and listings in the Career Center.

IV. Check out these very useful web sites:

IndianaInternNet, for current internships in Indiana.
Career Center Internship Links.
simplyhired.com, indeed.com, jobster.com, job board compilers that do the searching for you instead of your searching Monster, CareerBuilder, etc. Try them all and compare results to see which works best for you.
College Grad's Top Employers, a listing of the US employers who are hiring the most entry-level college graduates in 2007.
Google, if you are sure to focus your search as much as possible, this can yield helpful results.
Yellow Pages, to find listings of organizations in specific fields and locations. Always includes mapquest links; sometimes includes website links (google them if links not provided).
usajobs.gov, for competitive federal internships.
Idealist.org, a great site for non-profit internships and volunteer openings in metropolitan areas.

V. Attend Career Center job fairs that include internship openings:

Spotlight on Employment - Lexington KY, Liberty Hall
College Talent Recruitment Day - Indianapolis, IN, Convention Center

Many organizations ask for a résumé and cover letter as their application form. Be ready to apply by having a résumé and cover letter prepared ahead of time that can be easily adjusted for each particular position. For help pick up a Résume Guidé from the Career Center.

Academic credit is available for internships in all semesters.

For more information come to the Career Center Internship Office or contact David Harden at x7129 or harden@hanover.edu