Helping your Mountaineer find and rock their summer internship
It is important to emphasize the value of internships with your student. Colleges grant degrees, but not job guarantees, so having relevant experience in a competitive job market is critical.
Is your Mountaineer undecided on career options? A summer internship, shadowing a professional, or volunteer work are great ways to increase awareness of interesting career fields.
Why Internships Matter:
- Employers look for top skills such as communication, problem-solving, and teamwork, which can be developed through internships.
- The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) compiled these top eight NACE Career Competencies that employers look for and students should be building upon during their college years to be a competitive candidate.
- Employers look for experience on a student's resume and often hire from within their own internship programs.
- Having a high GPA is not enough.
- A strong letter of recommendation from an internship supervisor may tip the scale of an important interview in their favor.
Helping your Mountaineer find an internship or shadowing opportunity
Teach the value of networking:
- Introduce your student to people who have careers/jobs that interest them or encourage them to talk to their professors.
- Suggest that they contact people in your personal and professional networks for information on summer opportunities.
- Networking Checklist Resource:
- The second page of this resource has a great template for students to use in reaching out to professionals.
Direct them where to search and network:
- Handshake
- Company’s websites
- Career Fairs
- Professional Associations
- Indeed, LinkedIn, and other job search platforms
Encourage relevant resume writing skills:
- The experiences that will set them apart are the most relevant ones to their career goals.
- Have them check out this Resume Checklist + Outline to get started.
- For example, if they are thinking of exploring health, teaching, or coaching professions, it’s not necessary to emphasize fast cashiering during high-volume times on a resume. Rather, emphasize excellent communication skills and successful teamwork to provide high-quality service and outcomes during high-volume times.
- Reference the NACE Career Competencies list and have your student add relevant bullet points to their resume.
Helping your Mountaineer rock their internship
Encourage your student to do the following during their experience:
- Take initiative and say “yes” to opportunities.
- Ask good questions and get feedback.
- Maintain professionalism and be on time.
- Reflect on career goals and share them with the site supervisor.
- Build upon their skills and NACE Career Competencies .
To make the most of their internship, shadowing opportunity, or volunteer experience, consider these after-action items:
- Ask them about their experiences, helping them reflect on the insights they gained.
- What did they like most about the experience?
- What would they change?
- What are 3 lessons that they learned?
- Help them identify new skills/career competencies to add to their resume.
- Encourage them to stay in touch with their supervisor and peers, following up with a thank you card.
Supporting your Mountaineer’s professional development
Recommend that your student take advantage of helpful resources and events:
- Students can attend workshops/labs on a variety of career topics including resume and cover letter writing, networking strategies, and how to prepare for a career fair.
- Students can meet with a member of the Career Readiness Team in the CAHS Office of Student Success for personal career planning.
- Students have access to employers and relevant professionals through guest speaker panels, networking events, career fairs, and guest speakers in the classroom.
By guiding your Mountaineer through these steps, you're setting them up for success in their career journey!
Courtney Pletcher
Career Development Specialist
College of Applied Human Sciences
West Virginia University
courtney.pletcher@mail.wvu.edu
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