Where Trojans Find Internships
By Joy Ofodu ‘18
If you thought that internship postings wouldn’t spring up until Spring, you’re in for a surprise: companies across the U.S. have already launched their search for Summer interns! As Trojans, we pride ourselves on having access to an unbelievable network (occasionally nicknamed the Trojan Mafia) of professionals & resources. Whether you’re a Trojan looking for a head start, or a prospective student doing your due diligence in research, here are a few of the best and least-known sources for internships!
Connect SC
The Career Center and corresponding academic departments all gather summer internship positions in a database called Connect SC. There are hundreds of positions posted across the U.S., some with USC-exclusive application instructions! Be sure to follow those directions closely!
USC Career Center
YES, you can actually stop by in person to ask about new opportunities or how to approach a position you’ve discovered! You may even be able to interview onsite; remember to check the calendar & related list of resources.
Spring Career Fair
Tried and true - the Spring Career Fair is a great way to practice your elevator pitch and build genuine, in-person connections with the hundreds of recruiters and hiring managers who visit campus each semester. Many recruiters are looking for juniors and seniors only at these fairs, but it can’t hurt to expose yourself to the competitive environment a few semesters ahead.
USC Summer Internships +
This Facebook Group, open only to our students and alumni, has helped over 15 people get hired at The Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, Denizen Company, The LAGRANT Foundation and more. Co-admined by myself and fellow Annenberg darlings Maia & Celestine, it has grown to 1,750 members! Join us; there are plenty of new,weekly posts to go around!
Related Note: Keep your eyes peeled for the Facebook Pages of your favorite HR teams - they may share application tips or host live chats!
Academic Departments
Each department at USC offer some form of career advisement, internship listing or counseling. Some of these events and postings are open to all students: See what’s happening at Viterbi, Annenberg and Marshall, for example!
USC Alumni Connections
No bad has ever come from shooting a professional, polite and prompt email or message to someone in the Trojan Family (at your discretion, including a Fight On or academic department in your signature can boost visibility); both recent grads and established professionals can key you in on under-publicized openings at their companies. Most would also be willing to put in a good word for someone from their Alma Mater Dear.
Professors
Our professors are highly connected - they may know more about summer internships than you’d think. Stop by office hours to tell them of your interests; they are also an amazing, underutilized source of professional recommendations.
Jopwell
Jopwell is a platform designed to empower underrepresented ethnic minority students by exposing them to internships at companies like Adobe, Facebook and American Express - plus it hosts a neat feature that allows you to reach out directly to recruiters. And if you get hired through Jopwell? They’ll pay you.
Emma Bowen Foundation
A guaranteed, paid media/marketing/HR/journalism internship every summer of your undergraduate career? Freshmen applicants, look here!
The LAGRANT Foundation + T. Howard Foundation
Both The LAGRANT Foundation and the T. Howard Foundation are looking to advance the careers of minority students in business and media! Their reps do frequent on-campus visits, so check out their calendars ASAP.
Indeed
While not USC-specific, this database is updated hourly and will help you catch/filter through recently posted jobs like no other. It will save your frequent searches (i.e. marketing intern - New York Area, film production intern - Los Angeles) and can email you regular results. My favorite feature? It shows you how many you’ve missed since your last refresh. FOMO solved.
On LinkedIn, you can find summer internships, see how many others have applied, and apply exclusively through the platform. Some are posted exclusively here - this is also a great chance to direct recruiters to your All-Star profile. Way better than a flat resume.
And there you have it. Hopefully, this list can serve as the start (and end) of your internship search at USC. Apply On!
Note: Joy has interned with thredUP, Lucasfilm, Instagram and the USC Annenberg Office of Admissions. This post is adapted from an original LinkedIn post.
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