The Internship Search Process
This summer, I am proud to be working as a marketing intern at a real estate technology company, dotloop. Every summer, I have kept myself busy with internships and jobs, yet this year I learned a few simple but important tips that I would like to share:
- Start Early
- Go to Career Services
- Know the answer to “Tell us about Yourself”
- Invest Your Time
What about me? How did I decide on dotloop? First, I thought about location. While finalizing my plans to study abroad Fall 2014, I decided I should stay home for the summer. Cincinnati is home to many large corporations such as Procter & Gamble, Macy’s, Kroger, General Electric and more. Yet, there is a huge startup culture in the city as well. Entrepreneur magazine described Cincinnati as the “unexpected hub for tech startups”. While some might call me crazy – I decided to take advantage of being surrounded by inspiring and eager entrepreneurs when looking for summer internships.
After doing some online research, I stumbled upon dotloop. Started just five years ago, the real estate technology company has grown to be the number one real estate transaction company in the country. Having a strong background and interest in real estate, I thought “why not?”. The technology industry is completely new to me, but I was lucky enough to gain some experience with my freshman year FME business, Babson Marketplace. Internships are there for you to learn more about an industry – so I decided to apply.
After sending in my resume, I received a call the very next day. I had to go through two rounds of interviews. The first was a phone interview with the company recruiter. She focused on my past experience and how I would fit into the company. The second round was a video conference with two members of the marketing team. After this, I was able to accept the marketing position in February. Yet, I did not stop there. I decided to go ahead and show interest in a couple companies that I would be interested in interning for in the future. I was able to use the career website to connect with a past alum and I was able to secure an interview for a Spring 2015 intern position.
Having a summer internship in place early into second semester lifted a great weight off of my shoulders. For anyone planning on getting an internship (which should be every college student), I highly suggest you start looking now. There are positions available to everyone – the time and effort just needs to be there. Best of luck to those on the search!