Seeking a good college internship? Do your homework to find the right contacts

Q: New college graduates are hitting the streets looking for jobs. Others are seeking summer internships. Competition is high because companies are cutting back. What can students to do to get internships that will help them land good jobs after they graduate?

Nick's reply: Like job hunting, finding good internships depends more on the contacts you make than on applications you submit. Your first task is to select your targets carefully. You'll be far more effective if you pursue what motivates you the most.

What kind of product or project would stimulate you to work your hardest? It's OK if the range of companies you select is broad. The point is to select companies rather than approach them randomly. Then, target a list of companies that you believe could use your skills more than others. What knowledge or experience do you have, based on your studies and part-time jobs you have done, that these companies could use? Narrowing your search intelligently is key.

Starting with the target companies that excite you the most, call them and find out whether they have internship programs. This might seem painfully obvious, but it's not. Most students seek internships on the career center wall (literally). That's not enough. You must talk to the companies.

Better approach: Talk to everyone you know in your chosen field. For example, your professors and their associates and friends. Don't be shy about approaching people you don't know, like people who write letters to professional publications that are relevant to your field. Visit professional discussion forums online, participate, and drop a note to members who seem particularly knowledgeable about topics that interest you. Ask them for insight and advice about the work you want to do -- and then ask them to refer you to people who are responsible for hiring new grads with your expertise. It's better to be referred than to call "cold."

Best approach: Pick out some target companies and call the person in charge of the department you want to work in. Don't ask for a job. Ask for advice. "It's hard to transition from an academic environment to the real world. I'm trying to learn what makes a person in my field valuable to an organization. I realize you're very busy, but I'd like to ask you for a few minutes of your time -- your advice would mean a lot to me. I'm a good student and I think I'm a good junior (engineer, marketer, accountant, whatever). I want to become the kind of worker an organization like yours would want to hire. Can you spend a few minutes to give me a little advice? I'd be in your debt."

None of these approaches are easy. But they all involve learning from people who have the kinds of jobs you want to have.

Don't get discouraged. There are lots of students looking for internships. You need to be smarter about your search than most of them. And you need to be more persistent and enthusiastic even when you've been turned down.

Copyright 2009. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate

Nick Corcodilos is author of "Ask The Headhunter: Reinventing the Interview to Win the Job" and the host of www.asktheheadhunter.com. He can be reached by e-mail at seattle@asktheheadhunter.com or at North Bridge Group, P.O. Box 600, Lebanon, NJ 08833. Sorry, no personal replies.