Finding an internship doesn’t have to be daunting. With a clear goal, proper resources, and a well-written college student resume, you’re on your way to a great internship!
Below is a list of the top five internship platforms (with two bonus platforms your college must partner with for you to access).
All are beneficial and worth using to find your internship.
1. Internships
Internships is powered by Chegg, which you may be familiar with already. This tool uses Chegg’s expertise in empowering and equipping students for success to provide you with excellent tools.
Best Features:
- You can create your profile
- Search by category, location, or type keywords into the search box
- They offer resume, application, interview, and job advice to help you prepare for an internship and your career
- Notes popular searches and trending markets
2. LinkedIn
Did you know you can use your LinkedIn account to search for internships? Pretty rad, right? Especially since your profile can include your resume, link to your website, and portfolio samples already.
Hit search and then start making those connections. Don’t be afraid to click “Connect”. When you do, send a message letting the hiring manager know which position you want to learn more about or how to apply.
Best Features:
- Provides tips and resources for interns
- Easy to make connections with those hiring or current interns
- Ability to see if you have mutual connections who may be able to introduce you
- You can read articles and resources that the organization has created to learn if it’s the type of company culture you are looking for
3. WayUp
WayUp is a leader in helping college students find internships and jobs right out of college. They partner with over 20,000 employers to connect them with their next best hire, AKA you.
Best Features:
- Share information about yourself, and they’ll highlight jobs that fit your experience and strengths
- Create your profile
- Search for all sorts of opportunities all over the world
- Ability to connect directly with those hiring
- Receive tips and resources for interning, your major, how to apply, interviewing, and doing well at your job or internship
- Review lists of types of internships you may be interested in based on your major
4. Idealist
Idealist offers job, volunteer, graduate programs, and internship opportunities. They focus much of their efforts on companies making a difference in the world.
Best Features:
- You can search for internships based on keywords, skill, interest, or location
- Able to use this platform for more than searching for internships
- Ability to filter options by choosing a location, remote/on-site, compensation, type of organization, area of social justice, and your skills/field
- Career blog with tips and insights
5. Handshake
Handshake is similar to the other platforms above, but with one caveat. You need a .edu email address to use this platform. Once signed up, Handshake is easy to use. This website is very mobile-forward, making the application process slightly more relaxed.
Best Features:
- Create your profile
- Relevant jobs are sent directly to you
- Filter through opportunities
- Apply to multiple jobs (as many as you want)
- Read reviews from previous interns
- Ability to direct message students who received job offers at the companies you are researching
- See industry trends
- Job recommendations based on your preferences
- Career tips blog
Platforms Connecting Job Opportunities Directly to Your School
While any individual can sign up to use the platforms above, the following two internship opportunity databases are only accessible if your school has an account with them. Is your school a member? Reach out to either platform or your school’s career center.
Experience.com
Experience.com is key for employers. They post job opportunities that will be shared with the career centers at eligible schools (ahem, those who are members). If you want to join the program, make sure your school is on the list to ensure you can apply for these fantastic internships and job opportunities from tens of thousands of highly respected businesses.
CareerShift
CareerShift provides tools to schools that empower students to find the right jobs for them. Perks include:
- Setting alerts
- Filtering via salary, company, location, field, etc.
- Easy-to-use interface
- Access to contact information of hiring managers
- Search, store, and organize searches and contacts
Some Examples of Companies That Hire Interns
Some Examples of Niche Skills You Can Learn
Type these skills in your “keyword” search:
- Project management
- Expand knowledge on a specific area of engineering
- Business development
- Private and public sector partnerships
- Consulting
- Event planning
- Press releases
- Social media marketing
Before you begin your search, consider the distance from your home you’d be comfortable traveling for your internship. Is it within a 15-mile radius, or are you looking to relocate for the internship? On most platforms, you are provided a space to indicate location. This box may auto-populate your city. You can indicate a radius around your hometown or leave it blank, depending on the platform. See what comes up.
With your keywords selected (field of work, company, skill, and location), you can use the platforms (head back up to the top of this post) to find your internship.
With these search engines, we hope you find the internship to jump-start your fulfilling career. Looking for even more guidance in finding a purposeful internship? Check out our full guide on How to Land a Great Internship and Make It Count.
