Three Ways To Find A J-1 Visa Internship In A Recession by Noted Internship Expert A. H. Lostocco
CHI Publishing
December 12, 2008
There are three approaches you can use to finding an internship: they are the passive method, the Active method and the aggressive method. Here are the differences between the three methods.
1. Passive Approach:
Post your resume on some of the free sites and wait to be contacted by an employer.
2. Active Approach:
Post your resume on all the sites you can find and respond to internship job postings that are available.
3. Aggressive Approach:
Post your resume, Respond to job posting, contact recruiting organizations locally and in the US and contact employers directly.
Since we are in a recession and times are difficult, finding an internship in the US will be difficult. Therefore the only approach that will work is an aggressive approach. So how do you start to get this done? Lets start with the easiest and work toward the more time consuming approaches you will need to employ. Keep in mind at all times that this marketing of you is a numbers game. The more things you do the better your chance of finding an internship. You can expect a rejection rate of 92% so work to "Keep your chin up". Every time you get a rejection, just smile; that means you are that much closer to being offered an internship! So start by posting your resume at all the sites you can find. Here are some websites you should start with; www.internshipprograms.com, www.internship4america.com, www.rsinternships.com, www.monster.com and www.learn4good.com. These are big sites that receive lots of traffic so posting your resume there as a starter is great, but these are not the only sites so do some research and keep posting.
The second approach is to go to every site that you have posted your resume and answer all ads for internships that meet your requirement. Donīt get to picky if the description of the job does not match you exactly, as long as itīs close. Now here is how you start to distinguish yourself from the others seeking an internship. If the add you respond to gives the name of the company and the address or gives a persons name and email address. Write this down somewhere. If you have not heard from them in a week or so email them and include your resume again. Do this at least 3 times. If you have a phone number call them (remember to call during their normal business hours). Now this will obviously take more work then just posting resume and waiting, but it will greatly improve your chances of finding an internship. I can tell you from experience when we receive a call in our office from a potential candidate that has sent his or hers resume and we have not responded that candidate moves to the top of the list. It works.
Definitely this is the most difficult and time-consuming approach. This approach will distinguish you from the others. Along with the posting and contracting, find some good resources to identify potential target companies that are in your industry. Here are a couple of websites to start with www.hoovers.com and www.vault.com. If youīre a hospitality major look up the hotels in the city you want to be in and call and ask for the right name (proper spelling) and title of the General Manager and HR Manager. If itīs a corporation and youīre looking for a business, engineering, IR, HR etc. call the corporation office and request the name and title of the head of the department you are interested in the HR manager. In all cases get multiple names and titles so that you can send your letter to at least two individuals int eh organization. Donīt be afraid to get the name of the President of the company as one of the people to address your letter to. You cannot believe the positive reaction your letter will get if the president of the company sends it down to the HR manager. Donīt be bashful send multiple letters and follow up every letter with a call 5 days later.
A couple of final tips:
1. Make sure your letters are in very good English. Have someone check it. No Misspelled words.
2. Make your letter no more then three paragraphs on one sheet of paper
3. Make sure your resume is only one sheet of paper.
4. Include a photo if possible
5. Tell the person you are writing when you will call.
6. Send your email address along in the event they want to contact you first.
7. Put a cc at the bottom of the letter and indicate the other person you are also sending a letter too.
If I can be of any other assistance feel free to contact me directly at lostocco1@internship4america.com or I can be reached at 404-531-9574.
www.internship4america.com