Winter Break Internships What to Know

Winter Break Internships What to Know via Pexels Why should you get an internship over winter break? Winter break generally lasts about a month, give or take a week or so. While some people may prefer to spend their entire break sleeping, resting, and relaxing (which, admittedly, does sound nice), you may be someone who needs a little more stimulation, especially if you tend to get bored after just a few weeks of being home from college. If you’re hoping to be productive with your time over winter break, an internship is definitely a great option for you. What’s more, it’s a fantastic opportunity to beef up your resume and network with new people, even over a short period of time. Doing an internship is also a bit different from doing schoolwork in terms of the workload and daily scheduling, so don’t be afraid of burning yourself out. Depending on what kind of internship it is and where you do it, you may have the chance at a flexible schedule and likely won’t have to work a full five days a week. Plus, you’ll still get weekends off (with no homework!), so you’ll still have the time and opportunity to relax and catch up with friends and family as well. When should you start searching for an internship? Without a doubt, you should start your winter break internship search early â€" preferably sometime around mid-October to early or mid-November. Getting a head start will afford you enough time to do your research on the internships out there and contact employers and other essential people (such as potential references). While winter break may seem like a long way off, you should definitely start sooner rather than later. The process of securing an internship can sometimes be lengthy and tedious, involving many steps such as interviews and lots of paperwork to be filled out, so you want to make sure you give yourself and hiring managers enough time. In addition, being proactive about searching for an internship should save you a great deal of stress and worry in the long run. Where can you search for internships? There are many different places you can go to find a winter internship. A number of job and internship search sites exist, such as LinkedIn and Indeed just to name a couple, which can help make the search process a little easier. Admittedly, these sites can become a bit overwhelming because they turn up quite a lot of results, and it can be very time-consuming and exhausting to sift through everything. For that reason, it may be helpful to apply filters to your search by not only including keywords for the type of position you’re looking for but also filling in the potential dates of your winter break so that you can look specifically for internships and short-term positions. Beyond job search sites, you can also search for internships by taking initiative to network. Networking is super important when it comes to forming connections and spreading your roots in a potential industry you’re interested in. If you haven’t done too much networking before, you can certainly start small by contacting people in your personal circle, which may include family members, friends, faculty at your university, and previous employers. This is a good way to reach out to people if you’re not too confident about your networking skills yet. Reaching out to people who you know personally will hopefully create a comfortable, non-intimidating atmosphere in which you can truthfully voice your ideas, thoughts, questions, and hopes. If you’re comfortable expanding beyond this group, you can also start networking on LinkedIn to connect with industry professionals and people you may have mutual connections with. Additionally, it’s always a good idea to keep in touch with previous employers you’ve had for other jobs and internships. Reaching out to them will show that you’re still interested in that particular field and want to continue to sustain a professional relationship with them, which is sure to look impressive on your part. If you have the opportunity, you may even want to attend some professional networking events this month before winter break rolls around. Most likely, your university offers networking events and career fairs that you can sign up for, so you should definitely take advantage of those! Even if you’re not offered a job right on the spot, these events can still be a great way to meet new people, ask questions, form connections, and come away with some valuable contact information and networking experience that you can put to your advantage in the near future. What kind of internship should you pursue? Depending on how far along you are in college or in knowing what career path you want to pursue, the kind of internship you go for may be a pressing question. If you’re not too clear yet, searching around on job sites can certainly help give you a better idea â€" but they can’t do everything for you. You may also want to spend some time in personal reflection and do some research on the fields and potential career paths you’re interested in. You can ask yourself questions such as, “What classes have I enjoyed so far in college?” “What might I see myself doing five years from now?” Asking these questions can be helpful, and while they may be a bit difficult to answer at first, taking time to think about them will challenge you in a good way and get you thinking about how you can find the appropriate internship to jumpstart your career. After all, the whole point of internships is to help you gain some experience in a field you’re interested in and make connections with people in that industry. Choosing the right internship for you will most certainly serve you well in the long run, especially when you’re looking for full-time positions after graduation. via Pexels Should you go for a paid or unpaid internship? Of course, in an ideal situation, everyone would pick the paid internship over the unpaid one. Who doesn’t want to earn money? The reality is, however, that there are not many winter internships to go around in general â€" which means it will be even more difficult to find one that is paid. When it comes to landing a winter internship, it may instead be helpful to focus on the experience you’ll gain rather than the money you could be earning. First of all, finding an unpaid internship is most likely a bit easier than finding a paid one. Secondly, think about what else you can gain â€" besides a paycheck â€" by the end of four or five weeks. You will have the opportunity to learn more about a certain position or field and receive training from employees at a specific company or field you want to work in one day. Being in a particular environment can help you get acclimated to the work culture and routine there, and can also give you a glimpse into what work life is like and whether or not you enjoy it. What’s more, an internship can help you develop a number of valuable hard and soft skills that you can take with you by the time it’s over. Of course, while the hard skills you learn will be relevant to your specific position or field, some soft skills you may come a way with can include learning how to abide by an appropriate dress code for the workplace, developing professional speech and methods of communication, and honing time management skills. In addition, going for an unpaid internship without hesitation can say a lot about your values and goals to the hiring manager. If you’re not in it for the money, then you’re in it for something else â€" like the experience and the connections you’ll get. You can show that you’re motivated to do good work and that you’re willing to pour back into the company with your time, resources, and talents. Should you go for an internship abroad? Lots of people travel abroad during winter break, but probably not many consider interning abroad. Admittedly, you may have reservations about traveling to a foreign country over a relatively short period of time for an internship. However, if you love to travel, if you want to test your wings a little bit, or even if you’re hesitant to go abroad but want to push beyond your comfort zone, an internship abroad may be a great option for you. What’s so special about interning abroad? For one thing, it stands out on your resume. Traveling abroad for an internship shows that you’re going the extra mile (literally) to participate in an outstanding extracurricular activity. It also shows that you’re willing to try new things, which definitely stands out to hiring managers. Before you decide whether to do an internship abroad, there are a few things you should consider. One is your schedule; will you have enough time to complete the internship and travel back and forth without getting stressed? Is this particular intern position something you are truly interested in and believe you will get value out of? It’s important to think about the details and weigh the pros and cons of doing an internship abroad so that your decision is worthwhile. via Pexels How can you prepare your internship application? Just like with any other internships, it’s important to get together your application. One thing you should definitely put some effort into is your resume. You can go over your resume yourself or consult your university career center for help in order to highlight your most relevant experience and change up the wording to integrate employer keywords. Another necessary step you should take is to look up the requirements for the internship and the application. When applying, you want to make sure you have all the necessary paperwork completed, such as essays, transcripts, reference letters, and anything else you may need. Once you’ve submitted your application, you may be contacted for an interview, which you will also need to prepare for. Just like with any internship, whether winter, summer, spring, or fall, it’s important to be prepared and know what is expected of you. Having an internship is a great way to spend your winter break if you want to be productive and gain some relevant experience in a field that you’re interested in exploring. Take the time to do some internship hunting, and you may find something worthwhile!