The most common internship is a summer internship, which lasts approximately ten weeks and begins in mid- to late May or very early June and ends in early to mid-August. The ten-week period usually begins with an orientation, and then you will be hard at work pursuing your deliverables. You may or may not have some training sprinkled throughout the ten weeks, but at the very least you should have several opportunities to network throughout the summer.
It is worth noting that some internship opportunities extend past the summer, and others are exclusively labeled fall, winter, or spring internships. Whatever the season, the experience you will garner from such opportunities can be extremely helpful to your full-time job search and will go a long way toward strengthening your résumé and value proposition to your future employer.
Table 1.5 "On-Campus Recruiting Calendar: Juniors, Sophomores, and Freshmen as well as First-Year MBA Students" outlines the recruiting calendar for internships. It may be helpful to use this and sync the dates and months with your school calendar and potential employers so you know exactly what to do at every turn.
|
School Calendar |
On-Campus Recruiting Schedule |
|
|
Aug. |
School begins |
Companies begin screening résumés for summer internships. |
|
Sept. |
Semester in full swing |
Companies begin marketing opportunities on campus and continue to screen résumés. |
|
Oct. |
Midterms |
Companies begin on-campus interviewing and some summer offers are extended. |
|
Nov. |
Preparation for end of semester; finals next month |
Some summer offers must be accepted or declined. Summer intern candidates send résumés and apply for positions. |
|
Dec. |
Semester ends; winter break begins |
Summer candidates continue to apply for summer opportunities; some are contacted for interviews. |
|
Jan. |
Winter break, classes begin mid- to late Jan. |
Summer candidates are contacted for on-campus interviews. Interviews begin. Some offers are extended. |
|
Feb. |
Semester in full swing |
Some offer deadlines are extended. Interviews continue. Some have deadline acceptance dates. |
|
Mar. |
Midterms |
Interviews trail off. Most summer opportunities have been accepted or declined. |
|
Apr. |
Semester winding down; finals next month |
Summer new hire paper work sent to future interns. |
|
May. |
Classes end; some internships begin |
Some summer internships begin. |
|
Jun. |
Summer internships begin and are soon in full swing |
Remaining summer internships begin and are soon in full swing. |
|
Jul. |
Summer internships in full swing, ending early Aug. |
Remaining summer internships begin and are soon in full swing. |
|
Note: Certain industries have more aggressive recruiting timelines than others. For example, investment banking, sales and trading, and consulting are typically the first industries to conduct on-campus interviewing in both the fall (September and October) and the spring (January and February). All other industries typically recruit later in the academic year: technology, marketing, communications, teaching, and so forth. It’s best to check with career services, and you’re your classmates one or two years ahead of you, regarding this schedule, so you are best prepared. Note also that this chart represents only those companies that come to your campus to recruit. A vast number of opportunities are available, but not every opportunity will be listed with your career services office. Searches in the field of health care, teaching, and communications, to name a few, have to be managed off campus, where you are responsible for networking with decision makers, sending your marketing materials (your résumé, cover letter, and so forth), and obtaining interviews. This is challenging, but using the six-step job search process outlined in this book will help keep you on track. |
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