Keeping Up with Your Career: Landing a Co-op or Internship

If you’ve kept up with our summer career series, this week’s topic may seem familiar. Searching for a co-op position or first internship is in many ways similar to searching for a full-time job. Your resume should be up to date, you should fully research the companies or organizations to which you plan to apply, and you should always wear business formal attire to recruitment events. Employers also will still be looking for leadership experience and extracurricular involvement on your resume.

There are, however, a few keys ways that searching for an internship or co-op differs from a full-time job search:

• Employers understand that your classroom experience is limited.
• Eagerness and work ethic can outweigh other criteria.
• GPA can be more important.
• You need to register your position with Tech’s Center for Career Discovery and Development to stay enrolled and receive credit for your work experience.

Given these differences, starting with these steps can help ensure that your search is a successful one:

1. Determine your career interests.

• Research what you can do with your major.
• Make a list of jobs and industries you are interested in that relate to your major.
• Determine the skills you would need to be successful in the jobs on your list and cross-reference them with skills you already have.

2. Decide between the co-op and internship programs.

• Research Tech’s co-op and internship programs.
  • Co-op FAQs
  • Internship FAQs
• Ask yourself: Do you want an extensive experience with one company or several experiences with different companies? What makes sense in your field?

3. Visit the Center for Career Discovery and Development.

• Attend an orientation meeting for the program of your choice.
• Meet with your co-op or internship advisor to review your resume and discuss your application strategy.

4. Utilize on-campus resources.

• Set up an account on CareerBuzz.
• Check out job search advice from the Center for Career Discovery and Development.

5. Internalize lessons from GT 1000.

• Time management, communication, and presentation skills must be demonstrated in interviews.
• These lessons can help you stay on track academically and can help you maintain or raise your GPA.

6. Consider changing your major.

• If you’re having trouble finding a job you are interested in, it may be time to change your major. Speak with your academic advisor if you’re considering doing so.
• Check out this guide to choosing a major.
• Take an elective in a potential field of interest before you start your job search.
• Make the change earlier rather than later to stay on track to graduate.

7. Realize that you don’t have to know everything.

• Internships and co-ops are learning experiences.
• Employers will teach you what you need to know to be a successful co-op or intern.
• At this stage, a willingness to learn, your work ethic, and a positive attitude are more important than specific industry-related knowledge.