Internships help bridge the gap from being a student to landing a full-time job after you graduate. You gain practical experience to supplement your education and help you figure out what kinds of work you might like to do. Increasingly, employers are looking to their internship pools when hiring their entry-level candidates. Don't be counted out before you've even begun - a minimum of one internship is typically necessary to be a competitive candidate!

If you've done some exploring already, you'll have ideas about industries and occupations you want to try out. Search for opportunities in Handshake.

• Check out our online resources page, LinkedIn, Tiger Link and industry specific consortiums and professional associations to find internship opportunities.
• Use your network and reach out to people to make connections. You can talk to friends, family, faculty, and alumni to start. 
• Make a list of organizations that interest you. Do some research online. Do they have established internship programs or openings?  If they do not have any current internship postings, consider the industry timeline and make a plan for when you will check back. Consider reaching out to ask when opportunities might be posted. Do any CC alumni work there that you could contact? Start a spreadsheet to keep track of your research, applications, deadlines, and next steps.
• Consider previous experiences CC student have done as a starting point.

You can earn academic credit for completing an internship. Want to learn more? Check out the GS199: Internship Adjunct. Upon successful completion of an internship, you can earn ¼ credit.

Finding that some of your internship prospects are unpaid? The Career Center has a Summer Internship Funding Awards program allowing every CC student to earn one award for an unpaid or underpaid internship during their four undergraduate years.