Getting the Job

About the Job

Daily Activity Log

Career Advice

Internship Value

A Photo Tour

 

Section 1.0 - Getting the Job

Section 1.1 Advertising Your Availability –
The first step for anyone looking for any type of internship or full time position is to develop and refine a current and attractive resume. This is vital in order to receive an offer for a position. Developing and presenting an effective and persuasive resume is an iterative process. It must reviewed and revised over and over in order to fine-tune and tweak it at each phase.
I developed my resume over the course of a few years. I started with a very traditional, less effective document that did not capture potential employers’ attention. This resume stated the basic facts about my working and educational experience; it needed a great deal of work to transform it into a more appealing resume. The end result of any resume should be that it stands out among all the others. Each step in the iterative process brought my resume closer to this goal.

First, I listed my experiences and accomplishments. Once I had an updated resume drawn out, I sought out additional help. James Madison University offers several valuable opportunities during the year to help students develop effective resumes. One such event, “The Resumania” held in PC ballroom, encouraged students to bring a copy of their resume to recruiting managers for evaluation. I took advantage of this opportunity to have someone who evaluates resumes for a living give me advice and suggestions to improve my resume. Another excellent resource for resume fine-tuning is the CS internship program. Allen Burg helps student both revise their resumes and find intern positions. I brought a copy of my resume to Mr. Burg, and, over the course of a few days, he helped me reduce the clutter on my resume while still emphasizing my strong points.

Now that I had an effective resume, I needed a grammatically correct resume. I brought a copy to my English professor to help me correct any mechanical errors. After weeding out any spelling, grammar and formatting errors, I was ready to present my resume and myself to potential employers.

To find those potential employers I started searching on the Internet. I sent my resume to every recruiting manager I could find on the Internet. This did not yield any positive results. So, next I turned to on campus resources. Two in particular, the Computer Science internship program and the on-campus Interviewing Center, were helpful in this next phase. The CS internship program can be accessed through the JMU CS website at http://www.cs.jmu.edu. The on-campus Interviewing Center is located in Sonner Hall and information about their services can be found at http://www.jmu.edu/career/interviewing.

 

Section 1.2 Finding Out About Job Openings –
For me, the best place to find out about job openings was the on-campus Interviewing Center in Sonner Hall. Potential employers come to the center and list positions they need to fill. Students can then search for a particular job and submit an electronic resume. The employers review all the submitted resumes and then contact those individuals who meet the criteria for the open position. Once a person has been contacted, an interview time can be arranged. The interview takes place in Sonner Hall. This entire process is very efficient and convenient. This is the best way for students to get an opportunity to meet with potential employers. The large number of students that take advantage of this service make it very competitive, but on the other hand many employers come to the campus every year so there are numerous jobs to fill. All of my interviews for summer internships came from the on campus Interview Center.

Another option available for Computer Science students looking for summer internships is the Computer Science internship program. Students can submit their resume, and Dr. Grove, the internship coordinator, and Mr. Burg will work with them to perfect the resume and then present it to potential employers. This is a good option for those seeking non-paying internships. When jobs are scarce and an applicant does not have extensive experience, this can be a great way to gain work experience. Even though an intern may provide services without getting paid, gaining priceless experience, which greatly increases chances of getting a full time position after graduation, is the objective. When talking to recruiting managers, I found that most are looking for new hires with some practical work experience. So it is best to get as much on the job experience as possible before looking for a full time job after graduation.

The last place I looked for internship openings was on the Internet. This was the least effective method of getting interviews for my internship. Any job listed on the Internet is bound to have an enormous number of people applying for the opening. This makes getting the position very competitive and reduces the chances for and interview opportunity.

 

Section 1.3 Landing Your Internship –
The internship that I finally accepted I received though the James Madison University on campus Interviewing Center. I interviewed with Freddie Mac in Sonner Hall, and a few weeks later, I received a call from one of their recruiters offering me a summer position. My contact at Freddie Mac was in the human resources department. Two weeks after my interview, I decided to call her because I had not heard from the company about my interview. I do think this reminder helped me to eventually get the internship offer. After speaking to her and explaining in a professional manner that I had a dead line by which I needed to secure a position, she began talking to people in the company and working more actively to find me a position. Ultimately, this phone call paid off. If I had not called, I may have never been given an offer at all. The lesson I learned for the future was to always make a follow up phone call to let a company recruiter know I am still interested in the position.

My interview went smoothly. I had researched typical interview questions and reviewed the answers I would give if those questions were asked. Most of the questions in my interview were the ones I found while researching typical questions. This helped me prepare for my interview. One aspect I could have improved upon during my interview was to relax more. It is important to maintain a professional attitude while meeting with an interviewer, but it is also important to exhibit good social skills. Next time I want to be more relaxed and to handle the pressure of the situation better. A few items to remember: be professional, send a thank you letter, follow up with a phone call, and be on time.