As the spring semester is starting up, sophomores and juniors may begin to worry about trying to find a summer internship in the field that they are interested in and may not know where to start or how to go about finding one.

My advice is to start off by making a LinkedIn profile and to update it with a professional photo and a captivating summary about yourself. For students who are in the College of Business Administration, Pitt offers to take headshots for any professional needs, which can be very helpful. If you are not in the business school, you can easily get a friend to take some pictures for you!

On your LinkedIn profile, you should also add a summary of your past work experiences, expertise and education. After updating your account, you can look for a job or field of interest in the search bar, or choose from the job titles that LinkedIn has recommended to you. LinkedIn is a great way to make many connections and build relationships for your professional experiences.

There are also other platforms you can use to find an internship, such as Handshake and Indeed. Handshake is similar to LinkedIn in that you have to create an account and will automatically receive job recommendations based on your job or field interest. You can then continue to reach out and meet with various employers to learn more about the company you want to work for and what positions they are hiring for. Handshake is another great way to focus on your future and figure out where you want to work while also making great connections with employers.

I recommend starting your internship search early because there are a ton of other students also trying to find a job for the summer. Open job positions fill up very quickly, and it’s better to move fast when trying to find one. It is also very helpful to do some background research in the field you want to go into rather than applying and setting up an interview without realizing that the position is not actually in the field that you want to go into. By then you will have wasted a lot of time, so to ensure that does not happen, it is better to make sure that you are confident about what you want to do. You should also be researching different companies to see what positions they offer and what their applications require.

Another very important thing to have handy is a resumé. Almost every internship or job you apply to will ask for one, so make sure you have one printed and downloaded. A resumé should consist of personal information (such as your name and current permanent address), a summary of your goal for an internship or job, your education and prior work experience and any hobbies, awards, skills, etc. Employers will mainly look at your work experience and the responsibilities you had, so make sure you are very clear about your past experiences! If you are in the College of Business Administration at Pitt, there are classes that you are required to take that can help you build your resumé, so take advantage of that. If not, there are a lot of other resources on the internet that can help, and you can ask any professor or friend who would be willing to help as well.

Make sure to keep sending out your applications and resumés to employers and different companies, because it is important to put yourself out there! Also, do not get discouraged if you do not receive an invitation for an interview, because that is all part of the learning process. Good Luck!

Shriya writes about a few things you can do to find a summer internship or job. Talk to them at [email protected].