Determine Your Field
Before starting your search for paid internships, you need to identify just what field you want to explore. Are you looking to delve into the financial sector or the entertainment world? What sort of careers are you intrigued by the most? In most cases, you can get the best results by focusing on something you took up in college or another field you are knowledgeable in. Even though you want to narrow your field down to one particular area, be sure to leave yourself a degree of flexibility that will enable you to land an internship without missing out on a golden opportunity.
Visit the Student Career Department
When it comes to finding paid internships, one of the best resources available to you is the career services department at your college or university. There is a great chance that you can access the personnel and valuable information needed to simplify your search. Many schools have excellent relationships with corporations in the local community, businesses that often call on the university when they need qualified workers. Although these jobs typically start off as seasonal or part-time, they can easily become full-time positions as the intern advances in the company. When visiting the school department, just be sure to specify what field you are interested and note that you are seeking paid opportunities.
Check with School Faculty
The department heads and staff at your school can also prove beneficial in your search for paid internships. Perhaps you and a couple of staff members have developed mutual respect over the years. If so, this is your opportunity to leverage those relationships and use them to your advantage. It isn't uncommon for professors and other faculty to assist their former students in finding paid internships. In fact, many of them actively participate in the community with the sole purpose of helping create more internship and employment opportunities for students.
Leverage Your Network
Word of mouth is one of the best ways to obtain more information about anything whether it is consulting services or careers. Talk to your friends, family or anyone you may know in the employment field that interests you. Let them know that you are looking for a paid internship and would value any help they can provide. Sometimes knowing the right person could be the key that gets your foot in the door. Remember, you need to be very resourceful in order to keep an edge on the countless number of competing candidates.
Surf the Web
The internet provides access to a world that puts instant information at your fingertips. The web is so effective because it provides so many resources that can be put to good use. For example, you can go straight to the website of the company you're interested in and find out right away about their internship and employment opportunities. The most powerful weapon the internet gives you is the power of search. Google, Yahoo and Bing are all efficient search tools that deliver hundreds to thousands of quality leads. You can find information about virtually anything online - paid internships and promising careers are no exception.
Stay Aggressive
You can have access to all the connections and resources in the world, but whether or not you land that desirable internship depends on your effort. Don't just sit back and wait for paid employment opportunities to come your way, get out there and find them. This might require you to come out of your shell and actually make some contacts. Sure, it can be intimidating at first, but after a few attempts, you will gather confidence that empowers you to keep pushing until your goals are met. After landing an internship in that ideal environment that falls in line with your career path, you will find that the effort was well worth it.
