Taking Off Your Major ‘Blinders’
I am a senior at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Like many seniors, I spent the end of junior year stressing about finding an internship for the summer. Thankfully all of my work paid off- I found an internship and learned a few valuable lessons about job-hunting that I’d like to share with you.
- 1. Don’t be blind to internships outside your field of study. When searching for a summer internship, many students (including myself) focus only on the positions that apply directly to their field of study. As a business accounting major I initially sought job opportunities at accounting firms, which was very limiting. When I finally took my accounting ‘blinders’ off, I landed an internship at FindTheBest, where I worked on business development in the education department. Though the role didn’t involve much accounting, I interacted with the CEO and absorbed valuable lessons from his leadership skills; I also worked within teams, gained knowledge in web analytics and developed new skills in sales & marketing. Had I not expanded my search, I never would have had this incredible learning experience.
- 2. Think outside the ‘blinders’. True, if you’re a food science major, your background in food biology and chemistry qualifies you for great internships with food scientists, flavor chemists, dietetic technicians and nutritionists, but there are many other companies that would be interested in your skills as well. For example, my friend with a food science B.S. just got a job as a supply chain manager, where she uses her food knowledge to plan out how and where a company gets supplies for their manufacturing process.
- 3. Keep your eyes open for small business opportunities. Check out smaller organizations, start-ups and non-profits. These types of companies give prospective interns an opportunity to explore more facets of a workplace and develop a diverse skill-set. Additionally, speaking from my internship experience at a start-up, you could be exposed to high-level executives and leaders. Another great function of a smaller organization is the job potential. Smaller organizations and non-profits are especially selective about hiring; they are more likely to hire candidates they know and trust, like a vetted intern.
CALS Career Services would like to thank Jeff Anderson for this guest blog post.
