When Should I Start Looking for an Internship?

For many of us, the word “internship” conjures up a lot of stress. With the pressure to bolster our resumes and gain professional experience, we get tunneled into thinking that we absolutely need an internship to be successful. And so, we find ourselves constantly wondering when we should start looking for an internship.

What I have learned throughout my four years at UR is that the first step in this process is to stop, zoom out, and ask yourself: why you are looking for an internship in the first place? Internships are valuable experiences that offer you first-hand exposure to the professional world and help you develop career competencies. However, you shouldn’t rush yourself into an internship for the sake of experience. There are plenty of other ways you can explore careers outside of internships, so you want to make sure you’ve reflected thoroughly about your goals. It may turn out that what you’re actually looking for is not an internship at all.

There is no “correct” time to look for an internship, because every career path operates on different timelines. But there is a correct internship that gives you valuable skills. Before choosing an internship, here are some questions to reflect on that I found helpful when deciding whether or not an internship was right for me.

What career fields am I curious about?

Before you jump into applying for internships, you should reflect on what career fields you are curious about. There is no right or wrong answer to this question, and it’s totally okay to say you don’t know —that’s already an important first realization! You should first do some research on different career fields and compile a list that interests you. These fields can be as general as “Working with kids” or as specific as “statistics research on sports injuries.” To help with your exploration, I highly recommend visiting the Exploratory Career Community on the Greene Center website. There are some helpful resources to help you get started. One helpful resource is CareerExplorer, which is a five-minute survey that matches your skills, interests, and personality to potential careers.

The goal is to first be open minded and reflect on a breadth of careers that interests you before you start jumping into pursuing internships.

How much do I know about this field/industry?

Once you have a strong idea about what field or fields interest you, ask yourself how much you really know about the field. For example, if you’re interested in computer science, think about what kinds of options there are for students pursuing computer science. Do all computer science students work at big tech companies or are there other pathways to explore? What kind of projects to professionals in this field work on? Can I merge computer science with other career fields I am interested in (e.g., intersection of biology and computer science)?

Again, it’s helpful to use your resources. Consider connecting with professionals who work in the field and ask them about their experiences. Visit our Career Communities page to learn more about specific industries. You can also schedule an appointment with a Career Advisor through Handshake to learn about different field-specific opportunities. Try to soak up as much information as you can so that you have a deeper understanding of your career interests.

What skills do I need to be successful in this field?

After exploring your fields of interest, it’s important to reflect on the different skills you would need to be a successful candidate. I recommend again exploring that Career Communities page to see specific skills in your field of interest. You can also review the College Competencies, which is a refined list of top skills that employers look for in their candidates. While sifting through all this information, I find it helpful to make a table to organize my thoughts. The table could look something like this:

How can I further develop my professional skills?

Finally, it’s time to decide if an internship is right for you. Based on the skills you hope to develop, perhaps you do need internship experience to more deeply explore a career field and experience professional culture. However, it’s not the only path. There are plenty of ways to grow professionally. For example, if you’re a chemical engineer with no research experience, maybe it’s not the best idea to jump into industry internships. Consider connecting with UR faculty to see if they have any lab positions available. You can also ask to connect with professionals and see if you can shadow them to get a sense of what their work is like. If you want to build leadership skills, consider volunteering or working a summer job. If you are lacking in certain coursework, consider taking additional classes. These can be summer classes, online classes (free or paid), or certifications.

Helpful resources

This process may seem overwhelming at first, but I recommend meeting with a Career Advisor and sorting through your interests. The Career Advisors can help give you pointers on where to start looking. Another resource you can use is The Meliora Collective, which is a platform that connects UR undergrads with UR alumni to help students get started with their careers. The Meliora Collective is a space where you can connect with professionals directly and ask them about their experiences. They can share their insights into what opportunities they pursued as an undergraduate student or even help you find creative ways to augment your skills.

Before you start wondering when you should look for an internship, you have to determine if you even want an internship. There are plenty of ways you can grow as a student and a professional, so don’t limit yourself to internships. Once you’ve determined whether an internship is someone you want to pursue, I recommend visiting the Career Communities website to learn about the timeline of your field of interest. Additionally, visit Handshake to explore internship options and application deadlines.