Internships
How Internships Can Help Your Career
Internships can provide you with the opportunity to:
- Deepen your knowledge of and commitment to a particular career.
- Explore career fields to see if a potential career is right for you.
- Develop the skills that employers are seeking. Hiring managers prefer to hire graduates who bring real-world experience to their organization.
- Gain transferable skills and experience that complement your academic program.
- Build a network of personal and professional contacts who can serve as mentors.
Key steps to success in obtaining a position:
- Meet with a Career Development Center advisor to help you create a personalized plan for identifying opportunities.
- Update or write your resume and prepare a cover letter.
- Start looking for positions about 5-6 months before you would like to start.
- Consider conducting informational interviews with people who work in your target areas.
- Schedule a mock interview with the Career Development Center once you secure an interview.
- Access Career Development Center resources on professionalism and other keys to meeting employer expectations to prepare for success in your first week.
Where to start your search for a position:
- Research organizations/companies that hire interns/researchers from your degree program and with your skills, interests, and experience.
- Research potential career fields, typical internships, paid/unpaid opportunities, and volunteer work.
- Identify 10 target employers using resources such as LinkedIn and Glassdoor.
- Consider various geographic locations (Boston, home, and other locations accessible to you).
- Talk to everyone you know who may be able to assist you in your search - professors, former employers, friends, and family.
- Use the search resources below.
Search Resources:
- Network with family, friends, neighbors, and former supervisors to identify leads and ask them for a referral or introduction
- Faculty advisors and upper-class students
- Ask upper-class students about their experiences.
- Connect with faculty advisors for advice.
- Professional clubs or organizations
- Attend on-campus events/programs hosted by professional organizations and network.
- Find events/programs in the area sponsored by state or national organizations.
- Career Development Center
- Schedule a meeting to speak with a Career Development Center Advisor.
- Company and organization websites
- Search their website for opportunities – in particular, look at the Careers, About, Join Us, or Job Search page, or information on university recruitment or relations.
- Biotech and Pharmaceutical resources
- MassBio (Massachusetts Biotechnology Council)
- Massachusetts Life Sciences Center
- Professional Organization Websites
- Review websites for the professional organizations that correspond with your major and/or the career field you plan to enter. For example: American Psychological Association (APA), American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), American Public Health Association (APHA), MA Nursing Association, etc.
- Internet Search Engines and Sites
- www.google.com -Search phrase such as “College Internships in Boston, MA”
- Indeed
- Idealist
- Glassdoor for Students
- Federal Government search site
- Social Media – follow companies, connect with alumni, research trends, etc.
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