Internship Night 2020
By Gillian Follett
With the hunt for summer internships in full swing for many people, five of our KTP brothers sat down (virtually!) to talk about their past internship experiences and offer advice for the internship application process — even though it may look different this year.
The panelists:
Ali Fama, a senior information management and technology major, interned in L’Oréal’s digital marketing department during the summer of 2019.
Vaishnavi Varma, a senior physics major, interned this past summer at Bank of America as a global technology analyst.
Garrett Szczucki, a senior with a dual major in information management and technology and marketing management, worked at Penn Interactive Ventures during the summer of 2019 as a marketing intern.
Abi Callahan, a senior information management and technology major, completed a virtual internship as a UX developer this summer at Epsilon.
Lauren Capolongo, also a senior information management and technology major, was a marketing intern at PUMA during the summer of 2019.
The conversation began with a discussion about how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the brothers’ internship plans this year. Lauren explained that the company she was originally supposed to intern with canceled its internship program, and she had to search for a different company on LinkedIn. Other brothers, like Vaishnavi and Abi, had their internships moved to a completely virtual format. However, the two said that doing their internship online actually presented them with a unique experience, because it allowed them to connect with interns at different locations around the country, instead of just the ones they would have met in the single site they were working at.
“I got to work on several different projects and interact with teams on the West Coast and in Chicago and all of that,” Vaishnavi said. “I don’t think I would’ve gotten that experience if we were there in person.”
The pandemic has also significantly altered how the internship application process is carried out, as demonstrated by the virtual career fair a few weeks ago. Though interviews may be conducted virtually this year, the brothers said to treat them as you would an in-person interview.
Lauren recommended scheduling a mock interview with iSchool Career Services before your actual internship interview, which will help you feel more prepared for some of the more common interview questions and teach you what to say and what not to say in an interview. Mr. Perrello and Mr. Fouts — the director and assistant director of Career Services, respectively — can also help you determine what qualities or characteristics the specific company you’re interviewing is looking for.
The brothers also brought up various other ways to prepare for the interview process. Ali suggested having a list of pre-written questions to ask the interviewer at the end of the interview, and to do research on the company and its values ahead of time. Both of these acts help demonstrate to the interviewer that you’re genuinely interested in the company. Garrett also encouraged people to develop a solid answer to the “tell me about yourself” question, as it’s something that almost every interviewer will ask.
Abi also brought up the fact that she faced technical difficulties during her interview after the Skype call crashed in the middle of her conversation with the interviewer. However, shortly afterward she got a call from the interviewer saying they wanted to hire her because of the enthusiasm she had shown for the position before the call was disrupted.
“Even if it goes poorly, just know they understand you’re stressed about it, you’re going to be nervous about it,” she said. “Definitely show your interest in all your answers … and express to them how interested and passionate you are about the job.”
For people hoping to stand out from the huge pool of applicants for an internship, the brothers recommended highlighting relevant coursework and class projects on your resume. Abi has a section on her resume that she titles “relevant experience” to clearly demonstrate the technical skills she possesses. She also works on a personal website in her free time that she plans to use in the future to further demonstrate her technical capabilities. Lauren seconded the idea of creating a personal project to help you stand out from the crowd. She said her sister often works on small coding projects, and having concrete examples of your technical prowess can help catch a recruiter’s eye.
In terms of finding an internship to apply for, the brothers all said they used a combination of LinkedIn and Handshake, and a few also said simply Googling the type of position you’re interested in can also yield results. Ali also urged people to keep their LinkedIn and Handshake profiles up-to-date, as recruiters often look through your profile on these sites. However, the five agreed that the most important tool you can use when applying to companies is the connections you make with its employees. The network of SU alumni is massive, Lauren said, and LinkedIn allows you to see if there are any alumni who work at a company you’re interested in applying to.
“You can find an SU alum anywhere,” she said. “Don’t feel bad about using connections. Network as much as you can, because ultimately, those … are going to help you out the most.”
The brothers suggested applying to any internship you’re interested in, even if you’re not sure you’ll be chosen for the position, or even for an interview. However, Garrett also said not to apply to so many places that you burn yourself out trying to stay on top of filling out applications and writing dozens of cover letters. As Vaishnavi explained, the worst thing that could happen is you get no response from the company you applied to, which isn’t the end of the world.
Lauren also suggested that you keep a spreadsheet of the positions you’re applying for and use it to track which applications you’ve sent in, if you’ve heard back from the company, and other relevant information.
For sophomores who aren’t sure if they should be searching for an internship for the summer, the brothers said it’s not completely necessary, but can look good on a resume if you do manage to get one. However, Ali said you shouldn’t “beat yourself up” if you don’t manage to get hired to one, as having one the summer after your junior year is far more important. She also said that you can also reframe a non-technology-related summer job to sound appealing on a resume — in her case, she said her summer job allowed her to build “soft skills … as a waitress, and ... hard skills in the classroom.”
However, the brothers agreed that the most critical thing for people to keep in mind while searching for an internship is the importance of staying true to yourself during the process. Though you may feel pressured to present yourself as the “perfect” candidate during an interview, interviewers are far more interested in seeing your authentic self and hearing about what unique life experiences you can bring to the internship.
“At the end of the day … you’re not a product — you’re a person,” Vaishnavi said. “Be as true to yourself as you can be in a job interview.”
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If you want to learn more about any of the five brothers’ specific internship experiences, feel free to reach out to any of them!