UC Davis Information & Educational Technology

Bits & Bytes

Internships and the Internet

Published in The Aggie on February 8, 2006

Believe it or not, now is the best time to start looking for summer jobs and internships. It probably seems really early to be thinking about this, but companies like to plan ahead, and lining up a summer gig now is one less thing to worry about later. Plus, an internship or job will often give you an invaluable competitive edge when you apply to career positions in any field. Luckily for us, campus is hosting an Internship and Career Fair on Thursday, February 16 at the ARC Pavilion from 10am to 2 pm. But instead of waiting for the fair with crossed fingers and a shoddy resume, you can do a lot of preparation online beforehand to help you get ready for the big day.

See What's Available
The Internship and Career Center's Web site (icc.ucdavis.edu) is a good place to start. You can see what organizations are coming to the fair and research them through VAULT, a directory that helps you find tons of valuable information about different types of jobs, companies that might be looking to hire you, and what it might be like working for them.

Make a Good Impression
After perusing the many options, you'll want to clean up your resume (and yourself). The ICC has collected and graded the best free career job sites, including a bunch that provide many examples of ways to improve your resume. PowerPoint presentations are also available through the site that provide tips on how to present yourself at the fair and at interviews.

Keep an Open Mind
The upcoming fair lists organizations for "Agriculture, Biotechnology, Environmental, Food, Health and Business," but don't pigeonhole yourself too early. Not a biotech whiz? There are often plenty of opportunities for community service, which will improve our world and your resume. Students with a liberal arts background also shouldn't feel limited-an ICC representative offered an example of a humanities student who ended up working at a winery because of contacts made at a UC Davis fair.

Stay in the Loop
Can't make it to the Internship and Career Fair? Jobs.ucdavis.edu is another online resource for students looking to get hired. Run by the UC Davis Student Employment Center, the site is tailored to help students find jobs that fit their schedule, field, or income expectations. Students can also find positions reserved specifically for work-study. Handiest of all is the ability to join job-specific email lists that are tailored to your specific employment/internship needs. Both the ICC and the Student Employment Center provide this service, which allows you to be the first to know when internships and/or jobs you are interested in become available.

So, in between dealing with midterms and finding a place to live for next year (we'll have some helpful info on house hunting and roommate finding in an upcoming column), spend just a small amount of time using these online resources and you'll be well on your way to a great internship.

Bits & Bytes Archives

2006-2007

2005-2006

2004-2005

2003-2004