Experiences such as shadowing, internships, and apprenticeships are essential for

helping students develop a real-world understanding of potential careers. Here are five

key pieces of advice to help you gain more meaningful, hands-on experience.

#1 Start early in the late fall or winter

For summer internships, positions can open on websites as early as the fall. It is

important to start the process of finding employers and opportunities early to avoid

missing deadlines. Starting the process of identifying companies will make applying

more straightforward and help to avoid the potential for missing opportunities because

of deadlines.

#2 Draft a list of companies or organizations you want to intern at

When applying for internships, it is critical to have a list of companies or organizations

you are interested in working for. Within the list, add columns of more specific

information, such as: website URL, location, and if there is a position already posted.

This list acts as a checklist of employers to follow up with to ensure you are applying to

as many internship experiences as possible that are of interest to you.

If you are not sure what you are interested in, take a career quiz online to help define a

career idea that may best suit your interests. Some websites include: USAJOBS,

Personality, and Career Bridge. Once you find a couple careers, do a quick google

search of companies around you that pertain to those careers. Those are the

companies to add to your checklist for potential internships.

#3 Reach out to family members and friends that may have connections with the

companies of interest

With artificial intelligence now handling many online application and database

processes, it can be hard to receive communication on application status and secure an

internship online. Having a network of family members, friends, past employers, and

past colleagues can be useful in helping connect with a person in the company you are

interested in working for. One-on-one interactions are especially valuable for building

rapport and standing out. If there is a particular company of interest that you do not

have a mutual contact at, take the initiative and reach out to someone’s email or phone

number that you find online from the company, perhaps a hiring manager or director of

human services.

#4 Create a resume

Although most high school students may not have the substantial professional

experience to write a resume, it is impressive to a company to receive a resume from a

high school student regardless because it is not expected. There are plenty of resume

tools to help format a one-page resume for students. Some of these are: Microsoft Word

Templates, Brigham Young University Templates, and Princeton University Templates.

#5 Take a volunteer position to get in the door

Despite working hard, sometimes it doesn’t work out to get an internship. However, that

is not the only option! Taking volunteer positions at companies could help you get

experience in a particular field and get through the company doors. For example,

volunteering at a local hospital to help guide patients is a great avenue for getting a

hospital research internship in the future. Volunteering allows you to demonstrate your

work ethic, build relationships with employees, and showcase your commitment to the

company and career of interest.

Hope Zehr is a biomedical engineering doctoral student at Cleveland State University, conducting research at the Cleveland Clinic.