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) Membership with MassBio gives students, faculty, and staff access to training programs, committees, discussion forums, networking events, a career board, and industry reports on the biotech and biopharma industries of Massachusetts. All students, faculty, and staff at MCPHS are members of MassBio because the University is an institutional member. Create your account at: MassBio Registration Information. (You must use your MCPHS email address to create an account.) To search for jobs and internships, click on the "Careers" tab found along the top of the MassBio page.
- 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
- USAJOBS
- Social Media – follow companies, connect with alumni, research trends, etc.
- X