Can’t Find a Summer Internship? Here’s Plan B

It’s late in the season and you’re panicking because you can’t find a summer internship. Sound familiar? Here’s some suggestions for Plan B:

1. Look for a non-profit organization. Places like non-profits rely heavily on un-paid interns and are willing to find a place for them.
2. Be willing to find parallel industries. While you may not be able to find an internship in exactly the industry you want, why not look for something similar with relevant experience. For example, if you’re in a public relations program, you may want to find another internship where writing is important, such as for a newspaper, or advertising or marketing firm . Many of the same principles will still apply.
3. Be willing to look outside your area. If you’re having trouble looking finding an internship in your area code, branch out and look out of state, or even out of country. While it will be a more expensive process all around, it’ll be a great experience.
4. Volunteer. Whether it’s volunteering for the Red Cross or blogging for your local newspaper, your volunteer experience will look good on a resume. You never know, you may find something you love that you wouldn’t have found otherwise.
5. Be open to unpaid internships. If all the paid internship opportunities are already taken, consider an unpaid internship. We heard a story recently about a guy who took an unpaid summer internship and the organization found him a scholarship to compensate him for his time. Just remember, even if you take an unpaid internship this summer, you’ll have work experience for your resume.
6. Buy a summer internship. Believe it or not, you can purchase a guaranteed summer internship through an organization called Dream Careers. For a cool $5K or $10K you’ll get an internship and your housing, meals, transportation, career and networking events, and even weekend events for the summer.