The Initial Internship Search

After being enrolled in OSU Computer Science classes for about a year and a half I decided it was time to apply for my first internship. Little did I know that the search for an internship would be a difficult process.

The first step in applying for an internship was preparing my application materials. Re-working my resume to highlight technical skills and experience was challenging, but being able to receive help from OSU resources made the process a lot less painful. In addition to the resume overhaul, it was necessary to create a portfolio to showcase my personal projects. It took a number of iterations to create a portfolio that I was proud of, but once those two critical pieces were in place I was ready to start sending out applications.

This was the part that I underestimated the most. My first internship required me to send out over one hundred and fifty applications. For the vast majority of these applications I received zero response. The companies that did respond usually followed a similar pattern: send an online coding assessment, have a followup interview, finish with a panel interview with the hiring team. My confidence was slowly fading away as my email inbox became flooded with rejections, however I finally had a breakthrough with an offer from a local semiconductor manufacturing company. I’ll never forget talking with the hiring manager, and how excited I was for the opportunity. It was this internship that ultimately opened doors to future positions.