Women in Science's Guide to Undergraduate Internships
Women in Science's Guide to Undergraduate Internships
The most important guideline of all: IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION, ASK!
1. Career Center
Second Floor, Mem, right next to the Registrar's Office
527-5183
Open Monday-Friday from 9-5 ("What a way to make a livin'....")
A valuable resource for any sort of internship or career planning is the Career Center. They have an extensive file of internships in all sorts of disciplines and in all sorts of places. They'll also proofread your resume and other aspects of your appli cation. Your tuition dollars go towards this organization, so it might at least be wise to pay it a visit.
2. Roam the Halls
Posted in most, if not all, of the departments is a billboard that includes internship announcements received by the department faculty. Take the time to flip through these for 30 minutes or so on a lazy afternoon. They wouldn't be sending them here if
they didn't want you to apply.
3. Talk to Professors
Unknown to a lot of people, your professors are often working on their own
research projects during the summer. The Murdock Charitable Trust gives
out several grants (about $2,400 a piece plus housing, if I remember
right) each year to Whitman students to pursue a research project with a professor. The following semester you get to go to a conference and present a poster-paper (ask if you don't know what this is) of your work. Contact your professors now if you're interested in this.
4. The Internet
This is an priceless resource. There are multitudes of internships posted on the internet (sometimes an application is included as well). In the meantime, here are a few URLs to get you started:
1998 Summer
Undergraduate Research Programs
A descriptive list of the NSF-sponsored REU (Research Experience for
Undergraduates) programs in 1998. This is an excellent place to search for
a summer internship!!!
More REU Programs
This is where Sandra found her internship last summer....again, these are old internships, but it's likely that the programs will be continued in following years.
Lycos; Webcrawler; Yahoo
These are three search engines that can help you track down internships. Just plug in some relevant keywords and you're on your way. (Some good ones to start with: "research", "summer", "undergraduate", "internship", "science", "REU", "whatever discipl
ine you're in".) Remember, the more words you add, the more specific it's going to be, so experiment with all sorts of different word combinations. Also, each search engine has links to different sites, so don't get hung up using just one.
If you find a good resource for internships, please e-mail me ( Megan Leich) and let me know the URL so that I can add it.
5. Bug The Upperclassmen
If you've heard rumors of someone on campus who did an internship that sounds exciting to you, hunt them down and get them to tell you all of the details.
6. Choose Your Own Adventure
Another option is to stop searching for already-organized internships and to create your own. This is a great way to go if you're willing to work for free, are interested in a specific research topic, or are geographically limited to a particular region.
Just figure out who you should contact and send them a resume and a nice cover letter, telling your would-be employer why you're interested in their research and why you'd be an excellent candidate for the job. Chances are, they'll be flattered. If you
've got an idea in mind but don't know where to look, you can utilize the following:
First of all, there is a lot of debate about what is the most important part of your application. When the WIS officers got together and talked about their experiences, each had entirely different ideas about what was the critical part of the application . The moral? Do the best that you can on all of them. Also, as far as I know, there aren't any super-strict rules to any of these things, so I've just included a few hints, tips, and guidelines that may or may not be helpful to you. The Career Center will be more than happy to proofread these things for you, and having a second pair of eyes to look over your stuff will probably help you more than anything we can tell you.
Just in case the following makes no sense at all, I've included a couple of websites that might explain this stuff better than I:
Getting Past Go-A Survival Guide for College Graduates
The College Grad Job Hunter
The Resume
Not all applications ask for this, but it's probably one of the most valuable tools any job-seeker can posses. At the very least, having all of your accomplishments written down is a nice reminder of all that you've done. If you need ideas for the la
yout, look to other people's for inspiration.
A few things to remember:
1. Only include stuff that you've done since college. (Particularly true if you're currently a second-, third-, or fourth-year student.)
2. You probably know more than you think you do. Include anything in there that's even remotely related to your discipline, particularly if it has to do with computers. Ask your peers what they're putting on their resumes to help give you ideas.
3. Speaking of computers, computer literacy is really becoming a prerequisite to scientific research, and I'm not talking about word processing. If you don't know anything about programming, learn how to make a homepage. If you can make a homepage at Whitman, then you know some basic commands in UNIX, how to deal with a text editor, and a programming language (OK, so it's a simple one...at least it's a start).
4. Really think about your audience, and revise your materials depending upon who you're writing to. Emphasize the skills you possess which are relevant to the position you are applying for. (This is not to say that you shouldn't include your Order of t he Waiilatpu citizenship award; just don't make it the first thing on the page.)
5. Your name is the first thing that should appear on the page.
6. This is not the best time to be humble, nor to be cocky (which is different than confident). When in doubt, ask someone who knows your abilities to read it over and give you their opinion.
7. Spellchecker is your friend.
8. There are exceptions to each and every one of the above....
9. Something absulutely critical that I've missed? Let me know.
The Statement of Purpose/Future-Career-Professional Goals
This is invariably asked for, and lengths vary. There really are no right or wrong answers here, as the employer is typically looking for compatible interests. If they're looking for someone to study Antarctic ice sheets, and you really want to get invo lved with planetary atmospheres, then I wouldn't hold my breath about getting that internship. This is not to say that you should try to figure out what the employer wants and tailor your interests to theirs. Just tell them what you think, being as spec ific as possible. Being able show that you have some direction is an admirable trait, but you aren't necessarily disqualified if you don't.
Letters of Recommendation
While this part of the application is somewhat out of your hands, oftentimes it can be critical to you application. If you've had a semester when your academic achievements were a little less than exemplary, letters of recommendation can help smooth it o ver. It may sound obvious, but choose people who know something about the internship that you're applying for. If you want to work at a genetics lab, don't ask Reverend Jenkins from church to talk about your qualifications (the exception to this would b e if you were certain that you would get a crummy rec. from someone more knowledgeable, like your biology professor, or the off chance that Rev. Jenkins moonlights as a geneticist). When you approach somebody whom you'd like to have write one, come prepa red to give them a sheet of paper containing what the internship is, where it's at, what you want to do there, when the deadline is, and any other relevant information. Also, bring an SASE, although if it's your professor they'll probably just send it of f in official Whitman stationery.