Students seeking a summer internship should not depend on internship information solely from the Career Center or from internship advisors in various departments and school. Students should do some of the searching themselves.
This advice comes from John Haag, internship advisor at the Career Center, and from students who have been frustrated by long waits to get advice on internships.
What many students are discovering is that the waiting list to speak with an advisor is over a month long. This presents a problem to those who are trying to get all of their applications in by February deadlines.
“I would guess a school our size would have around three or four advisors,” said junior Tim Harvey.
The DU Career Center has one part-time advisor available, John Haag.
Haag believes that the best aspect of the Career Center is that “we have highly motivated career counselors and DU students have great opportunities.”
According to Haag, the Career Center gives students tests to see if what they are majoring in is a good fit. Internships are aimed to augment coursework and provide a real-life experience, build resumes and develop valuable networking contacts for future careers and job searches.
Haag has a lot of good things to say about the Career Center’s internship program, but he is also sees the problems in it. “We have an outstanding program,” said Haag, “but, in my opinion, we do have not enough staff and resources to satisfy the demand.”
“There is just one person serving a high desire from students for direct one-on-one internship counseling appointments in the winter and spring quarters,” explained Haag, “While I have two wonderful work study student assistants, they are only able to work 8-10 hours per week on the large amount of data entry and administrative work related to listing internships.”
There are no firm figures on how many internships the school sets students up with annually because students do not report back to the Career Center when they revive an internship, Haag said.
Students may also use the online database listing potential employers. Students should also check with their academic advisors as many of the different schools in the university have their own internship advisors to help students.
Nonetheless, students express frustration. “When it comes to internships it definitely feels like we’re on our own,” explained junior Jessica Wails. “Internships are essential for our careers. You would think with all the money we pay for our education the school would be able to do a little but more for us.”
Haag advises students to do some preliminary research on internships on their own. The sooner students apply for internships the better their chances of getting one are.
“Start searching for internships ASAP,” said Haag, “Complete your resume and cover letter ASAP. Besides searching the internship database, propose internships to employers. Many employers would look favorably upon a well-crafted cover letter proposing an internship.”
