4 Ways to Get an Internship After the Career Fair
By Jamie Wu ‘18
1. Follow up with the recruiters you talked to
During the career fair, hundreds of students line up to talk to recruiters and hand over their resumes. During the 5 minutes of interaction that you have with the recruiter, it’s most likely that he or she will not remember your face and resume. It’s nothing against you but due to the sheer number of applicants, it’s hard for them to remember everyone. That is why it is just as important to follow up with an email that includes: one interesting thing you talked about with the recruiter and a thank you note to them for taking the time to come to the career fair. You want to send the email on the day of the career fair or the next day at the latest. When you do this, you set yourself apart from the other applicants who don’t send an email at all. And trust me, after being on the employer side of recruiting, this act really will make a difference.
2. Apply online through the company’s career portal
Often times, recruiters will tell you to apply online through their company’s website. Make sure you do this as soon as possible, or before the deadline that they give you. Although you might have submitted a resume and cover letter through USC’s connectSC, the company still needs to check against its own resume database in order to create a portal and invitation to you in case you make it to the next round.
3. Continue to follow up and go to more career fairs
Your search for an internship doesn’t just end after you leave the career fair. It’s an ongoing process in which you have to network and follow up with people in the same industry. If you see that a deadline is coming up for an internship and you have questions, follow up with the recruiter you met during the career fair. Or even ask if they could grab coffee with you. The more they recognize your face and your presence, the more they will like you (this psychological concept is called the mere-exposure effect). Additionally, if a company is not hiring for the spring just yet, make sure you go to USC’s spring career fair because by then more spots will have opened up.
4. Get connected with the USC Career Center
USC’s Career Center has newsletters that keep you updated about upcoming Trojan Talks, mock interviews, internship and job deadlines. Sign up for those by going on connectSC–>My Account–>Privacy and changing your weekly email preferences. On connectSC, there are also other checkboxes where you can select whether or not you want to be included in resume books or be promoted to employers. The career center also has counselors who give out free resume, cover letter advice and career counseling. You can go during walk-in hours from 11:30am-3:30pm M-F. These sessions last for 15 minutes. Alternatively, you can schedule an appointment on connectSC, which lasts for 30 minutes. Whatever career help you need, the career center has the resources to help so be sure to make use of it!
I hope these 4 tips will help in your internship and job searches! But remember that if you don’t get an internship this time around, there will always be more opportunities. Do not worry about what internships other people are getting. Focus on what you want to do and the jobs that are aligned with your passions will follow at their own perfect timing.
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