Internship Guide
For a video overview check out the following recordings from our How To Secure An Internship Series:
We encourage students to seek internships for the following benefits:
- Apply your strengths, coursework and group experiences into real world applications
- Gain training and connections in a particular field, industry, and organization
- Enhance your professional experience and identify mentors in your areas of expertise
- Access potential pipeline for future roles and full-time employment post-graduation
To get started, consider:
- Exploring options
- Making connections (with the industry/field/job function/geographic location)
- Applying for internships (part-time/full-time internships during the fall/spring/summer)
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Explore Options
Most organizations are looking for candidates to fill an immediate opening. This typically means you should be applying the semester prior to the anticipated start date. Similarly, most internship recruitment occurs a semester in advance. However, depending on the industry/organization you are targeting, you may have to apply even earlier. Refer to the guide below for a general timeline. (Note: This may not apply to every organization, so please do your research!)
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Make Connections
The process for securing an internship takes time and can involve many steps. We suggest speaking with:
Peers: Consider scheduling an appointment with an Industry Insider Intern
Faculty: take advantage of office hours to talk to your professors about their academic/industry expertise
USC Alums (Through the Trojan Network and LinkedIn, you can ask for informational interviews) to gain more insight into their career launch and professional experiences as you pave the way for your chosen path.
Need a headshot or looking to gain an overview of LinkedIn to start this process? Check out our our Headshots to Handshakes program.
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Balancing an internship with your class schedule
Internships are offered each semester (fall/spring/summer) for at least 6 weeks/term. Most students choose to work between 8 – 20 hours to balance coursework and other obligations. During the summer, many students opt to intern full-time (40 hours/week) when not enrolled in classes.
Course Credit If an employer requires course credit (speak with the HR department or supervisor for clarification), USC offers several courses for internships year round and MDA 250 is open to all students, in all majors. You must already have secured an internship to obtain D-clearance.
When to apply?
Internship recruitment varies by industry. This chart serves as a general timeline regarding some of the most competitive roles during the Summer 2024 hiring cycle. Please refer to Handshake for available internships in addition to individual company websites/ job descriptions for specific deadlines.
This timeline represents the application, interview, and offer periods for USC students who accepted internships for summer 2024 based on industry. This timeline provides a visual for students to consider when pursuing a summer internship.
Where to look?
Students can find internships promoted at events hosted during On-Campus Recruitment and posted online.
Internal Resources
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Career Fairs
We host career fairs during fall and spring semesters. Employers participate in career fairs to recruit for full-time and internship opportunities.
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On-Campus Recruiting Program (OCR)
Our OCR program attracts companies from a variety of industries looking to hire for entry-level positions and internships. It is a convenient opportunity for you to interview on-campus in our interview rooms.
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Trojan Talks
Employers share information about their organizations and provide students a chance to network with recruiters and alumni. To learn more review What is a Trojan Talk?
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Handshake
Through this online portal, you can connect with employers hiring for internships, part-time, and full-time roles. Handshake provides you insightful information about numerous career paths by exploring roles, industries, and salary information.
External Resources
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Prep for an internship through job shadowing
Forage is a platform providing virtual job simulations and short courses to build real-life skills for real-life roles, offering a window into company and a preview of their day-to-day. Job sims are 100% free, open access and self-paced.
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Short term experiential learning (externships & micro-internships)
Parker Dewey provides micro-Internships, short-term, paid, professional projects which are open to all college students and recent graduates of U.S.-based institutions.
Extern provides short, online, project-based work experiences offered by employers ranging from Fortune 500s to startups.
Next Steps?
The following are additional tools to aid you on your internship journey.
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Scholarships for unpaid internships & First Gen students
Dream Dollars Scholarship: awards a $2,500 scholarship to selected undergraduate students who secure unpaid summer internships with a non-profit or government organization.
First Generation Scholarship: awards a $2,500 scholarship to selected first-generation undergraduate students who secure unpaid summer internships.
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Dress for Success
Check out a visual guide with tips on how to dress professionally
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Join an on campus Internship Search Club
Industry Insiders is the USC Career Center’s comprehensive program to educate and support undergraduate Trojans interested in securing internships through three supplementary initiatives: Industry Insights, InternshipSC, and Peer-to-Peer Networking.