Rough time finding internships

[JoosyJoos]

Hey,

Just thought I would see if there are any other college aged guys/gals on the boards that are having trouble finding internships for this summer. I'm pretty frustrated because I've been turned away from 4 or 5 companies over the past few months and quite a few of the companies have terminated their internship programs altogether for the summer. I guess it wouldn't be nearly as frustrating if I didn't consider myself a well-rounded, academically focused student.

So can someone elaborate on some tips for these tough market conditions? or where else I might look for internships other than university career fairs and direct contacts?

I don't tend to think that I'm a bad interviewer or anything so I'm not quite sure what the deal is here. Maybe all the extra competition coupled with some bad luck but I don't know.

For the record I'm a senior (graduating in December) at the University of Georgia majoring in Finance with a 3.88gpa.

Anyway... advice would be much appreciated and please ignore any grammatical errors. I'm not out to impress anyone with writing ability on a BMW forum, especially in the off-topic section lol.

[JoosyJoos]

Originally Posted by damadama

I see your problem.

get a real major! seriously your field deserves to be in the shitter for a while. Idk why they pay you guys more than they do teachers.

Low blow. Finance is pretty diverse so I don't think its fair to point a finger at the entire field of study for the actions of a few Wall Street investment bankers and the trend towards deregulation in the 90's. There are plenty of others to blame in the grand scheme of things.

So... how bout some positive feedback that doesn't criticize the field of study I find interesting?

[Desi]

My sister graduated with a degree in Finance a couple of years ago and is still getting offers left, right and center. Only thing is that they are all Audit positions, as so many companies are going down the shitter the ones that remain want to make damn sure every penny is being spent properly. She got her job just over a year ago, so it was before the market really started turning to shit, and she had something like 14 job offers from different departments of the Canadian Federal Government alone.

Myself, I am looking for internships and having a decent amount of luck finding them. My major is a joke though, I'm just finishing up my degree in Political Science (Pre-Law). I am having zero luck in the private sector but that was almost to be expected, right now I'm getting a decent amount of interviews with the Federal Government and am most likely going to be able to wheel and deal myself into a position on Parliament Hill as a political staffer should nothing through any formal internship programs pan out. I suggest looking to government, as I am in my final year it seems as if every one I know is only getting call-backs from the government who seem to be the only ones hiring (Municipal, Provincial and Federal) and Canada wasn't even hit as bad as the US was...

[jun]

what field are you looking to intern in? what geographic location?

[JoosyJoos]

I'm leaning towards corporate finance but I wouldn't mind something involving banking or real estate. I think its wise to keep my options open right now and not be too picky. I'm mostly looking in the South Eastern region but would be more than happy to relocate if I could find a firm willing to find me a place to stay for the summer.

[just4kickz]

does your school have an online internship forum application which you can use? have you've gone to your college advising/career center for advice?

[808six]

intern with the FBI www.fbijobs.gov i believe, they are looking for accounting special agents and such

[aznshrek88]

I graduated in December from USC with an accounting degree...still no jobs =(

[ejazbmw]

same boat as you op can't find one i applied to 4 and haven't heard from them...

[1013mm]

dude you want to know what, i cant even get a job after 4 months graduated....I was a business admin major with a 3.75 gpa..... AND i had experience..... totally SUCKS!

BTW where are you guys all looking for jobs? I'm sites and newspapers....

[ejazbmw]

Originally Posted by jzhang

dude you want to know what, i cant even get a job after 4 months graduated....I was a business admin major with a 3.75 gpa..... AND i had experience..... totally SUCKS!

BTW where are you guys all looking for jobs? I'm sites and newspapers....

no offense or anything but you kinda graduated at the worst possible time (i think you know that as well) i think finding a internship should be somewhat easier because some of them aren't even paid

[just4kickz]

Originally Posted by ejazbmw

no offense or anything but you kinda graduated at the worst possible time (i think you know that as well) i think finding a internship should be somewhat easier because some of them aren't even paid

haha yep... i guess being in econ/bussiness/finance etc wouldn't help you much right now.

[ejazbmw]

Originally Posted by just4kickz

haha yep... i guess being in econ/bussiness/finance etc wouldn't help you much right now.

im a accounting major i have friends making ends meat right now with the same major

[noire07]

The US Army's hiring.. you'll be graduating soon, go to officer candidate school, get your commission, branch Finance Corps, and gain leadership and management skills. Also has the benefit of having job security (well.. sort of)..

Have you tried your schools career development center (or something similar, thats what it was called where I went)? They should be able to help with your job search. Outside of that, start looking for field specific job search sites, or check out corporate websites of a large number of companies and look for the careers section. They usually have internship opportunities.

I'm sort of faced with a similar situation. I'm considering separating with the army next year and hoping the job market doesn't get worse. If it does, might consider staying in longer or going for my MBA.

[FOXYCaymanS]

Originally Posted by JoosyJoos

I'm leaning towards corporate finance but I wouldn't mind something involving banking or real estate. I think its wise to keep my options open right now and not be too picky. I'm mostly looking in the South Eastern region but would be more than happy to relocate if I could find a firm willing to find me a place to stay for the summer.

mckesson.com

[sinnet112]

It's tough out there, especially with a finance degree. Everyone wanted to do finance for a long time and now there's more students with finance degrees than there are jobs to fill them with.

Your career services should have a website where you can upload your resume and apply for a position that the firm has the intention of hiring for from your school. Career fairs are a great place too, because you can meet them face to face and they can get a better sense of who you are. I don't know what nationality you are, but if you're a minority then there's also programs such as Inroads and SEO that help you find great internships with competitive pay.

I used a career fair to land my internship last year at one of the bulge bracket (or what once was) firms, but the times then were better than now. It's a tad late, but there may still be some chance. If the economy improves in the near term, which it may or may not, finding a full time job may be easier for you.

The key is to just get experience. These firms do like to see that you did something productive during summer, whether it's waiting tables or working in retail. If you have positive experiences to talk about on your resume, you'll land an interview. Good luck!

[cougfan335]

I garduated in May 2007 (acct & fin) and spent about 2 months leisurely looking for jobs and things were so much better. Worked at a small accounting firm for $40k through tax season last year and got tossed. I've been hunting for something good while working a real easy $15/hour bs job. It sucks out there, but I would recommend being very picky, I went for the first job I got accepted at just to get out of the moms house and it royally fucked me. Got an offer with the NRC a few days after I started that one too, would have paid less to start, but I'd have a lot more to work with now.

[Aija]

Market is tough. Few of my fellow engineer friends graduated in december and are still looking.

Alot of companies have froze there hiring process altogether.