The honors program provides many opportunities for students to explore their interests both inside and outside of the classroom. As a second-year student, I have started to look toward completing the experiential learning component of the honors coursework. To help fulfill this requirement, I am choosing to search for internships. Through my search, I have found the resources the university provides to be very helpful. Here are some tips on finding, applying, and interviewing for an internship. 

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The Internship: 

The first step to applying for an internship is finding one to even apply for. The university provides an online hiring service called Handshake where students can view jobs posted by employers. To search for jobs in Handshake, simply put in your desired position and location. You can refine the search further by filtering by major and proximity to desired location as well. I found the internships that I applied for by using Handshake to search for them. Students wishing to find an internship can also take advantage of career fairs the university hosts throughout the year. These are a way to network with employers. At career fairs, you can introduce yourself to potential employers, ask questions about companies and ask for contact information. 

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Due to the pandemic, career fairs for the 2020-2021 school year are hosted online using Handshake. Students speak one-on-one with employers via video call for five-minute intervals. You can sign up for the spring 2021 career fairs using instructions found on the Pomerantz career center's website. 

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The Resume: 

Once a student has found an internship they would like to apply for, they will be asked to submit a resume along with a few other pieces of information. Your name, college, major, GPA and graduation date should all be included. Aside from those, your employment history and academic achievements may be listed. Your resume will change depending on your experience and year in school. For a first-year student applying to an internship, your high school activities can be listed. However, a second-year student should try to leave out high school activities and choose to list a class project or involvement in a student organization. The career center at the university provides resources that can be used to see resume examples with a variety of formats and information listed. The career center also provides peer mentors who can meet with you to examine your resume closely and help you revise it. 

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The Interview: 

After submitting your application, you may be contacted for an interview. This is an opportunity for the recruiter to get to know you on a more personal level, and it gives you a chance to sell yourself and talk about any applicable skills you have. One key component to having a successful interview is practice. The career center also provides a software called "Big Interview" where you can practice interviewing and receive immediate feedback. 

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This year, most interviews are being conducted over a video call. An important aspect often overlooked with online interviewing is eye contact. It's important to maintain eye contact with your computer camera, similar to maintaining eye contact with a person, instead of looking at the video. Lighting and environment are other factors that should be considered with interviewing. To ensure the recruiter can clearly see your face, have direct lighting and try to minimize shadows across your face. The background behind you is just as important as the lighting. To minimize distractions in the video, try to find a wall that does not have any decorations on it. If that is not possible, find a wall that has limited decorations. 

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Another important piece to having a successful interview is researching the company in advance. It is important to look at the leadership team, the mission and values, history and any videos featured on the company website. I made the mistake of not thoroughly researching a company, and when the recruiter asked if I knew what product they made, I told her what I thought the company made. Unfortunately, I was wrong, and they did not make the product. To prevent situations like this from happening, thoroughly research the company! 

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Experiential learning is a valuable learning experience. The honors program offers a variety of options for people to choose from when fulfilling the requirement. Internships are not something everyone is going to choose, but for those who do, I hope these tips helped. 

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Written for the University of Iowa Honors Program blog; bringing awareness to experiential learning opportunities (2021)