GETTING STARTED
Internships are a valuable way to practice what you learn in the classroom by implementing your knowledge in a professional setting. Internships should align with your academic area of study and grow your professional skills. An internship is NOT about just getting money. It is primarily a way to enhance your resume and increase your chances of finding employment. An internship can also help you experience your desired career field to figure out whether you like it or not.
ORGANIZE & COMMUNICATE
It is ultimately up to you to research when your industry recruits and to prepare accordingly. Keep track of application deadlines and required documents. Some internships have deadlines several months before the internship starts. Many internships require letters of recommendation and you need to give your recommender at least a month’s notice. To request a letter of recommendation from NTU faculty or staff, you can use the following template: Letter of Recommendation Request Form.
Important Note: The Career Services Coordinator can only write letters of recommendation for student’s that have gone through the career services program. If you have never met with the Career Services Coordinator, then please consider asking someone that knows your academic record and work ethic.
Let your friends, family, professors, career services, and other professional connections know that you’re searching for an internship. They may be able to help you.
To organize all your internship applications, use the following organizer: Internship Application Organizer.
WHERE TO LOOK FOR AN INTERNSHIP
Listed on this page are several resources for searching internship opportunities. These are a limited sample of resources. There are more opportunities available at your googling fingertips.
To discuss more opportunities, feel free to set up an appointment with the Career Services Coordinator by calling (505) 786-4358 or by email at careerservices@navajotech.edu.
Helpful search engines:
- Intern Queen Inc. – Founded by Lauren Berger in 2009, Intern Queen Inc. is a personalized way for young people to connect with the internships and career opportunities of their dreams.
- WayUp – Get discovered by employers who like you for more than your work experience. Create an online, personalized WayUp profile to highlight your volunteer experience, hobbies, coding skills, and more to show off how well-rounded you are.
- Indeed – As a prominent job search website, Indeed experiences over 200 million unique visitors every month from over 60 countries. Indeed can serve as a valuable resource in your job search and to find an internship opportunity.
- Job Source – Using this site, you can search internships available by state in the US and Canada within non-profit, government and private sectors.
- MonsterCollege – Connected to Monster.com, MonsterCollege provides internship searches, tips, strategies, and articles.
- Internships.com Find internships and employment opportunities in the largest internship marketplace. Search paid internships and part-time jobs to help start your career.
- Glassdoor – Glassdoor Offers an inside look at jobs and companies. Glassdoor is a fast growing job and recruiting website with a database of millions of company reviews, CEO approved ratings, salary reports, interview reviews, and questions, benefits reviews, office photos and more. This is a free resource.
- ZipRecruiter – The smartest way to hire and get hired. As the fastest growing employment marketplace we have helped over 1 million businesses and 100 million job seekers find their next perfect match through partnerships with the best job boards on the web, curated email alerts, award-winning mobile apps, and one of the most sophisticated job search algorithms in the space.
Government & Non-Profit Resources:
- New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions – Search internship opportunities in the state of New Mexico.
- Office of the Governor Internship Program – This site is continuously updated with internship information for the Office of the Governor with New Mexico.
- Senator Heinrich's Internship Program – Gain experience working in a congressional office.
- New Mexico Environmental Department – Learn about up to date internships in the field of environmental science.
- New Mexico Department of Health Internship Program – The NMDOH Internship Program offers undergraduate and graduate students a chance to gain real-world experience in a practice setting.
- Think New Mexico – Think New Mexico is a leadership development organization that works to train students in how to develop and enact sound public policy.
- USDA Pathway's Program Internship – The USDA Pathway’s Program Internship is for current students and individuals accepted for enrollment in a qualifying educational program.
- New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry – The New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry (ACI) is the statewide business advocate. ACI is accepting applications for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico Policy Fellowship, a 10-week leadership program designed for college students.
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
It is a good idea to constantly update your résumé and letter of interest. The Office of Career Services is available to help you update and improve these documents. Schedule an appointment today.
Typically, employers will follow up with a group of applicants for a first-round interview after reviewing all submitted materials. These follow-ups can happen by phone or in person. If the follow-up is in person, be sure to dress appropriately depending on your desired career field. The way someone in automotive technology would dress for an interview could be different than someone applying for an administrative office specialist position.
After the first follow-up interview, there may be a second interview depending on the candidates and the employer.
You might hear back from the company or program within days, or it might be six weeks or more.
Be sure to keep your options open by applying to several internship opportunities.
