How to Get an Internship in Web Fields: Key Insights

Understanding How to Get an internship.

As a student searching for an internship, its easy to feel overwhelmed by the job market. With every career field, employers often look at the type of experience a person has had related to that field. As a result, students typically seek entry-level jobs, but it isn’t that simple. Students often lack the experience full-time jobs seek causing them to look for internships instead. I understand and have experienced that securing an internship is not as straightforward as it seems.

During last summer, I dedicated months trying to find an internship, specifically a web design-based internship to have as my Cooperative Education (Co-Op) for school. Although I experienced challenges during my search, such as companies with a lack of work and positions, I encountered opportunities, like networking with business professionals. In the end, I was able to secure a position with a company where I feel welcomed and have ample freedom and independence. Whether you’re a student searching for a job or new opportunities, understanding how to get an internship can be beneficial. I hope my experience will help you understand how to get an internship. By the end of this article, you’ll have new insight on how to get an internship and overcome the hurdles like I did.

Understanding the Importance of Internships

Let’s explore the main questions: what is the purpose of an internship and what is an internship? Well, an internship is a position for students or trainees to gain work experience and meet industry qualifications. It is a fantastic opportunity for those without significant experience or required degrees to gain experience within their future career field.

Since companies are primarily looking for employees who have experience, getting this experience is crucial. Some employers even prioritize experience over degrees. This emphasis on experience is significant because according to Northeastern University, “65% of jobs require postsecondary education”, but “many managers still consider” experience more important than GPA or coursework.

In addition, gaining experience related to your intended major is important. So, getting that experience on your resume makes you a better candidate when being considered for college. Scholar Prep Nation states that admissions officers value a students work and volunteer experience that relate to the student’s college major as it shows willingness and discipline.

With this understanding, a new main question arises: how to get an internship and more specifically, how to get an internship in high school? Before I share these tips, let me show you why my advice is worth your consideration.

My Journey to Securing an Internship.

During the summer of my senior year, I dedicated time to securing an internship for the upcoming school year. My school offers Co-Op, a program allowing students to gain real-world experience, for seniors and sometimes juniors. At my technical school, Co-Op participants are considered the best and brightest. I really wanted to be on co-op, and I was confident I would secure one. I was coming off of a high, winning first in my state then tenth in the nation for FBLA (Read more about it here) and my resume was strong. Despite my confidence in knowing how to get an internship, I didn’t secure my internship until the day before my first day of school.

Navigating the Challenges of Securing an Internship

The first mistake I made was putting all my eggs in one basket. There was one specific company that was recommended to me, so I reached out and they responded showing interest. They thought my resume was good leading to further communication with them and meeting the team. After about a month of good communication, I felt like I had the job secured. That all changed when out of nowhere they sent me an email stating that they could not extend an internship to me at that time. This was in July, school started next month.

Initially, I was disappointed, but I didn’t feel the pressure right away. I took my time looking for and reaching out to other companies, but everything really hit me once August hit and I didn’t have a secured position. Around August 1^st, my school found an opportunity to me but that fell through. I began sending mass emails out on August 6^th, and got my first response the next day, but they didn’t respond again. Between August 8^th and August 14^th, I got the most responses and almost had a position secured but that company didn’t match my school requirements. Finally, I received news from an interested company. During our interview, the employee I spoke to assured me that I was likely to secure the position. This filled me with hope and confidence again. They told me they would update me that Monday, but instead I had to message them first. I learned that they were not in a good position to bring in a new employee. This felt like another disheartening setback, but it taught me another lesson.

“You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated.”

— Maya Angelou

Difficulties and Successes

At this point I was lost and unmotivated, I knew I had a good resume, the employers even told me so, yet I was struggling to get a position. Despite positive feedback, I was struggling and couldn’t understand what the problem was. When I got the news that I didn’t get the job on August 20^th, I officially was in a panic. School started in a week, I felt like I was running out of time.

This is where I truly learned the benefits of networking, a key part in how to get an internship. The next day, my teacher made a post praising me and my accomplishments and mentioned that I was looking for an internship for the school year. I had about 4 people asking me to reach out, and I began communicating with each one. The first interview I had was in person as they were close, and they offered me the job on the spot. That job happened to be my best option as well. My teacher may not know, but his belief in me restored my confidence in myself, and for that I am extremely grateful.

Lessons Learned: How to Get an Internship

While I’m grateful of my position, there are a few things I would have done different when looking for an internship in high school.

• Having a plan: To be honest, I was fully confident that I would easily secure an internship. I still had so much trouble trying to find a job. If I could restart, I would have a plan and have used my resources earlier to secure one.
• Having a backup plan: In the beginning, the biggest thing I would have done differently is not spend so long on one company. As my search went on, I was sending a bunch of emails out to companies to try and get as many opportunities as I could because I had to scramble if I wanted a job before the school year. I believe that if I did not lose that month in the beginning focusing on one company, I would have had much more time and would not have felt so rushed.

Tips on How to Get an internship.

Here are four tips on how to get an internship.

1. Don’t limit your opportunities: Reach out to as many companies as you can, don’t limit yourself to one company. Even if they offer you an interview, don’t be afraid to explore more options. This way, you’ll have options and can determine which one is best for you.
2. Have a strong cover letter: I didn’t go over how to write a cover letter for an internship as I only used an official one once, but the content written in my cover letter is what I sent out in my outreach emails. You want to write an engaging, but straightforward, email to these companies that highlight your skills and describe why you should be considered. An example of the format I followed is below.
3. Have a strong portfolio and resume: Now I know, the point of securing an internship is to gain experience so your resume may not yet reflect that. If that’s the case, focus on highlighting the skills from your current experiences and connect them to your intended internship. For example, if you worked in food service you can talk about working with a team. If possible, try and look for more opportunities to build your resume to help your internship search. The outreach email is what connects you with a company, but a resume is what helps a company decide whether to respond or not. In other words, a strong resume will open internship opportunities. Here’s my projects portfolio.
4. Believe in yourself and trust the process: There were times when I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get a position, but by persevering I was able to find one. Remember, its common to feel overwhelmed when searching for a job but keep believing in yourself and persevering.

By applying these tips and staying positive, everything will work out as it is meant to. Enjoy the journey, you got this!

Final Thoughts on How to Get an Internship

Prioritize networking, create a plan, then create a backup plan, don’t limit your opportunities, build a strong resume, and have an engaging outreach email. By following these tips and strategies on how to get an internship, hopefully you’ll see that your internship search was an easier experience than mine.

Take action, start building your network now, you’ve just learned how to get an internship. Remember, always believe in your potential because you’re full of it. That internship is out there and yours for the taking. Stay positive, work hard, and just make it happen.