Guest blogger: Tim Mosehauer, Career Counselor

A: That is fine, still take advantage of the chance to gain experience.  The length of time is not nearly as important as the depth of your experience in terms of knowledge acquisition and networking.  Even if you don’t do something for 4 straight full weeks, but instead do an internship 3 days a week over that similar time, the emphasis should be on what you are learning, what projects are you doing, and what you are taking away from the experience.  By being flexible to different time commitments you can open yourself up to multiple opportunities, possibly by doing something unpaid for part time, and then working for pay on other days to help support yourself.

Guest blogger: Tim Mosehauer, Career Counselor

A: Start with the people you know.  With any contact, whether it be your old high school teachers, or neighbors down the street, be intentional about your search.  Now I wouldn’t suggest just going up to any of these people and saying “I’m looking for an internship close to home, can you help me?”.  Instead, I recommend you first research different industries and target the type of work you are interested in, then approach some of these people and say something like, “I’m interested in the arts, and want to be near home this summer.  Can you help me identify organizations that I can approach where I can use my skills and learn a few things too.”

Make sure to check out all the CSO resources too, in addition to starting with the people you know first.  You can do geographic searches on MOJO, and similarly in MiddNet you can target alums who live in the area you want to be.  And make sure to come by CSO during Drop In hours, we’d be glad to talk with you more about all your options.

A: A great to find out what Middlebury students were doing last year to is to search the Winter Term Student Reports and  Summer Internships Survey at the CSO. These resources allow you to search by the location, industry, and employer for many of the students who had either a Winter Term or Summer internship. Once you make the Midd-connection don’t hesitate to contact the student for more information about their experiences and begin applying for the position.

For more information you can always stop by the CSO everyday from 2:00-5:00 for a Drop-In appointment with a Career Counselor.