• By Aniket Singh (Apple Inc, IIT Madras, Author of “Intern Abroad This Summer”) 

So, you have finally decided that a summer internship abroad is what you are aiming for – congrats for taking the first step. In order to bag that dream internship, however, you need to get moving and start working NOW! Here is what you need to do to get that summer internship:

Research and cold call: You need to get out there, make a dream list of who want to intern with, find out more about the organization/s and cold call – regardless of whether they are actively looking for interns or not. There is no harm in picking up the phone and calling the person/company, or in sending an email. Pursue those companies that you would like to be a part of in future. If analytics interests you, then try and intern in an analytics firm. Very few employers would discourage your love and enthusiasm when they will benefit from it.

Get networking: Your network would be one of the best places to get information about internships. Speak to your professors, seniors, alumni, or even fellow students. Keep a look out for internship opportunities on internship websites, and social media such as LinkedIn. If you are looking at a specific company, professor, keep a watch on their activities to find out when they are open for applications. If your school has a placement cell, get familiar with the coordinators and staff.

Start applying: Many organizations and professors start to accept applications early for summer internships – and get flooded with applications early on, as well. If you are looking for a summer internship, start applying much in advance – at least five months in advance. While some companies accept internship applications till summer, others are known to close as early as February/March, or even a year in advance.

Prepare your resume: While applying to the university/organization whom you wish to intern with, one of the most important aspects is getting your resume right. Yes, you are still in college, and you really don’t have much of a history or list of work experiences that you can boast of. But, that does not mean that you wait till your fourth year or you are out of college to start preparing your resume. You need to start working on it right from the first year. Add all the experiences that make your resume stand out from the others.

Follow the relevant groups on social media: Many organisations, communities and colleges have official and unofficial groups on LinkedIn and Facebook where they put up information about their various internships programmes, including details on how to go about applying for them, whom to contact and when they are open. Follow these groups to keep a tab on these opportunities, and apply to them.

Build your skills: If you would rather pursue your hobbies or interests during your holidays in college, do that. There is absolutely no harm in doing so as you will be learning something new and not whiling away time. There are other students who take up research or work with NGOs, or take part in charitable activities. Better yet sign up for one or three months courses at institutes such as Aptech or NIIT or take an online course to build skills like better communications, digital communications or big data if you are statistically inclined.

Think positive and keep applying: If you don’t get into the internship programme you have been dreaming off, don’t lose heart. Keep applying to other organisations/individuals whose work match your interests. Chances are you may just end up in one that is better than what you had expected. 

About the author:

Aniket Singh works for Apple Inc. in California, United States. He is also the author of “Intern Abroad This Summer”.

Aniket holds a BTech degree in Electrical Engineering from the IIT, Madras, Chennai, and a Master’s degree in Wireless Systems from Politecnico Di Torino in Torino, Italy. He has interned at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom and Ecole Polytechnic Federale de Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland during this studies.

Visit him at www.aniketsingh.com

Check out his book at www.internabroadthissummer.com