By Katherine Wan
For many college students, landing a highly-coveted internship may feel like the be-all and end-all of a college career. Internships can provide a unique professional experience that standard college courses simply don’t offer and can connect students with full-time jobs after graduation. For students who are still hoping for an internship, it can feel incredibly disheartening to receive rejection after rejection, especially after spending hours on internship applications and interviews.
It can feel like everyone has an internship except for you, but this is often blown out of proportion by social media. People don’t really post about not getting internships. If you feel like you’re falling behind because you haven’t landed an internship yet, you’re not alone.
You are not less than any of your peers who do have internship experience. There are so many factors that go into hiring which are out of your control. For example, the level of competition and demand in a specific industry may change from year to year, and this is also affected by the economy and where you are able to work. Other times, getting an internship is just about who you know. You can put in more time to network, but connections often come down to chance and privilege.
It’s okay to not have an internship this summer or any of the summers during your time in college. There is not a single career path which requires a summer internship in order to get a full time job after graduation. Of course, internships can play a big role in getting future jobs and opportunities, so it is possible that getting a job after graduation may be harder without one. But it will always be possible, and there are steps you can take to improve your chances even without an internship.
There’s lots of things you can do during summer, even if you don’t have an internship. You can take college courses at NC State, a community college or even free ones on the internet. There are also certifications, and ones on Linkedin Learning are free for NC State students and students of many other universities. There are also several opportunities to work jobs that are not related to your career goals, but will still be beneficial for you. Working retail or food service, for example, will require you to work under pressure, develop people skills and be able to adapt to any possible situation. For most people, undergrad is the last time to experience summer break, so enjoy it while you can. Spend time with family or friends, take a vacation or pick up a new hobby.
Even if things haven’t gone the way you want yet, know that the effort you have already put into getting an internship has not gone to waste. Just putting yourself out there and networking with recruiters can build connections. Practicing your elevator pitch and getting interviewed will help develop soft skills which will help you feel more confident and comfortable for the future, and these skills will last you a lifetime.