Internships

Our best interns have always done this unexpected thing: They ask A TON of questions up front. They don’t pretend to understand the task. They don’t nod their way through the kickoff meeting. They dig in early, clarify every detail, and make sure nothing is lost in translation. Yes, it’s annoying for me. It's annoying for us. It can take 30 minutes to explain a very simple request. But the outcome is worth it. Once they’re clear on the goal, they go deep. They read articles, test hypotheses, and break their code repeatedly. The worst interns? The "yes, I got it" crew. Hint: They don't got it. They spend hours going in circles, asking scattered questions, and making slow progress. They disrupt the team making everyone lose focus on their tasks as they are hammered with questions repeatedly for a week. As a manager, I’d rather answer 15 questions in the first 30 minutes than have someone interrupt my team repeatedly for a week straight. If you’re starting an internship, do this: - Get 100% clarity on the task. Take notes. - Do not leave your manager’s desk until you truly understand the assignment, even if it makes you feel stupid. - Get to work. - If you get stuck or have more questions, do not ask immediately. Be patient. Build a list and get them answered all at once. No one expects you to know everything. We don’t know everything. But showing that you know how to learn and work effectively is invaluable. #internships

Most people go about job searching on LinkedIn the wrong way. They apply through job boards, submit their resume, and wait. By the time they hit “apply,” they’re competing with hundreds of other candidates, and their application gets buried. But there’s a better way to find jobs before they even get posted. Instead of searching for open roles, search for people who are hiring! 1. Go to LinkedIn’s search bar and type phrases like: # We’re hiring a data scientist # Looking for a business analyst # Hiring a marketing intern # Our team is growing, looking for engineers 2. Then, filter by posts. This will show you real-time updates from hiring managers, recruiters, and employees talking about open positions. These are often jobs that haven’t been posted on job boards yet, meaning you have a chance to get in early. 3. Once you find a post that interests you, don’t just send a cold DM. Engage with the post first. Leave a comment, ask a thoughtful question, or add value to the conversation. Then, send a message referencing their post and expressing interest in the role. 4. If you’re applying to a company where you don’t know anyone, look up employees who work there. Find someone in the department and reach out. Instead of asking for a referral right away, ask for insights about the team and culture. People are much more likely to help when you approach them with curiosity rather than just asking for something. This approach works because most hiring happens before a job posting even goes live. The more visible you are and the more proactive you are in engaging with hiring conversations, the better your chances of getting noticed. Have you ever found a job through LinkedIn networking? Would love to hear your experience!

This is how I landed my very first internship interview as a 17-year-old freshman studying CS at a non-target school ➡️ No, this is not clickbait. I did, in fact, land my first SWE internship interview during my first semester at school, studying CSE at the University of Nevada, Reno [with a Cyber Defense Federal contractor that later got acquired by Accenture Federal]. So how did I do it? I optimized my LinkedIn profile, and it helped this recruiter find me. Let me just set the record straight ~ I did NOT have a following or even a good network back then (fall 2020). I think I had about 600 connections/followers at the time. And now's the moment you might be saying, "This isn't new. Everyone says to optimize your LinkedIn profile." You're right, but very few people actually explain *how* specifically for internships. So here are 5 ways to optimize your profile for recruiters on LinkedIn to find you and bring internship opportunities to YOU ~ ✅ Flip that "open-to-work" toggle! I know there is a bit of debate and taboo around the "open-to-work" setting and green banner. It does NOT make you desperate or look desperate. It's telling recruiters you're open to opportunities! ✅ Keyword Optimization If you've ever heard of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), these same principles apply to LinkedIn! Figure out what keywords are relevant to the role you're searching for (i.e. "internship," "product management," "Agile") and splash them all over your profile ~ specifically your About section & Skills section. This is what helped recruiters find me! ✅ Update your headline. Most people have short attention spans, and we'll glance at a LinkedIn profile or a resume in a few seconds. Your headline is the "headline" for a reason. If you're header says "Seeking/Open to SWE Summer '24 Internships," the person will immediately know whether or not you fit the profile of what they're looking for. ✅ Completely fill out your Experiences section. Sit down and take a full inventory of everything work or experience-related you've ever done. Put it all out there! Personal story/example ~ I included my pageant experience as a titleholder for the Miss America Organization. Later, a startup founder who reached out for another internship interview mentioned that was something that caught his attention! ✅ Update your Featured section. Use the Featured section to show off your highlight reel and get recruiters to notice you! You can include your resume, project links, news/press articles, publications, etc in this section! I actually used to put my resume (in .PDF form) in my Featured section, and it worked pretty well for me! #earlycareer #internships #summerinternship #jobsearchtips #jobsearch

During undergrad, I did 11 internships, yep, 11. Not because I had a perfect resume, but because I treated each opportunity like a mini-lab, where I could test, learn, and iterate fast. Data science isn’t just about writing Python scripts. It’s about turning ambiguity into insights and building conviction through evidence. If you’re looking to land your first data science internship, here are 10 strategies that go beyond the obvious, and actually work: 1️⃣ Start with one tangible business problem Don’t start with models - start with pain points. Find a local business, club, or nonprofit and ask: What decision do you struggle with the most? Then solve it with data. 2️⃣ Document the why, not just the how It’s not impressive that you used XGBoost. What’s impressive is why you chose it, what didn’t work before, and how your decisions reduced error rates by 20%. 3️⃣ Master one “power tool” deeply Pick SQL, Pandas, or scikit-learn - then go really deep. I don’t mean just syntax. Learn edge cases, performance trade-offs, debugging. You’ll stand out for how you think, not just what you know. 4️⃣ Quantify impact on your resume “Built a dashboard” is vague. “Built a dashboard that saved 3 analysts 5+ hours/week” speaks volumes. Tie your work to time, money, or decisions. 5️⃣ Contribute to open-source meaningfully Don’t just fix typos. Pick a bug tagged “good first issue,” and make sure it’s non-trivial. This shows real-world code fluency and willingness to work within large codebases. 6️⃣ Ask for code reviews - even informal ones DM someone you admire and ask: Can I get your feedback on a small project? I’d love to hear what I’m missing. Most won’t respond. But the 1 who does? that is your edge! 7️⃣ Practice a two-minute “whiteboard walkthrough” Internship interviews are not Kaggle competitions. Can you clearly explain your project, decisions, results, and trade-offs without opening your laptop? 8️⃣ Leverage hidden-curriculum courses You don’t need another Coursera cert. Find courses that teach how to think like a DS, not just “how to build a model.” I loved fast.ai and made custom notes I still refer to. 9️⃣ Align with the team’s stack Before you apply, reverse-engineer the role. Do they use Airflow? Snowflake? Hugging Face? Tailor your personal projects and resume accordingly. Match their environment. 🔟 Treat the interview like hypothesis testing You’re not there to impress. You’re there to validate a fit. Ask sharp questions about the role, data maturity, and mentorship culture. You’re evaluating them too. Internships aren’t just about “getting in”. They’re about compounding your learning so fast that by the time you graduate, you’re not looking for your first job - you’re choosing it. ♻️ Share it with someone who’s stuck in the “I need experience to get experience” loop Follow me on IG https://lnkd.in/denE_Zpw for beginner-friendly tips, tools, and insights to get started!

My recent post for new grads went viral - the biggest lesson was your career needs to be outbound before it becomes inbound. Now here’s how to actually do that ⬇️ 👉 Believe in yourself. Imposter syndrome holds us back. Humility is important, but don’t feel like you need to wait in the shadows for your turn. 👉 Ask for opportunities. Referrals, resume reviews, coffee chats, mentorship side projects, ownership on the team etc. Expect a ton of nos (like at least 80%) but get into the habit of asking. 👉 Create content. If you press publish every single day or week for a year, I guarantee your life will change. Start with things you know - what are you known as, online or among friends? what could you talk about all day? What brings you joy or pisses you off? Or if you’re working on or creating anything, document the journey (Day 5 of doing X). It doesn’t even have to be LinkedIn. 👉 Engage online - for every career path, there are online communities on Slack, Discord, LinkedIn etc. You should be in them and be visible. Share insights, help others out, become known. 👉 Go the extra mile - I don’t condone unpaid work, but sometimes you have to prove yourself. When interviewing for a job, present new ideas for how the company could grow. If you’re looking for freelance work, customize your pitch. Here’s a few hypothetical examples: 1. Associate Product Marketer → Startup Offer via Thought Leadership Started a weekly LinkedIn series breaking down viral product launches (e.g. Duolingo's TikTok strategy). After 6 weeks, a founder of a B2B SaaS company DMed them, impressed by their insights. They got a freelance project, which turned into a full-time offer. 2. Entry-Level Designer → Consulting Gig via Spec Work Redesigned the mobile app UI for a fitness startup they admired, posted it on Behance and Twitter with a thoughtful case study. The startup’s head of design saw it, reached out, and hired them for a paid project. 3. College Senior Studying CS → FTE Role via Twitter Networking Replied to a tweet by a founder who was struggling with page load times. Offered to review their site’s performance for free. After a quick Loom audit, they were invited to consult, then offered a full-time engineer role once the startup raised funding. 4. Early Career Consultant → Career Transition via Cold Pitch Pitched a local restaurant chain business with a 5-step business plan to improve growth. Met with founder then hired as advisor then head of strategy. 5. Aspiring VC → Job via Hosting Events Started a monthly “Future of [industry]” dinner series in NYC, inviting founders, operators, and junior VCs. Built a newsletter around event recaps. Met a partner at a VC firm through the event who later offered them a role as an analyst. The inbound opportunities will come — but you can accelerate the timeline by going outbound. #socialmedia #careers #linkedin

To all the interns out there: this one’s for you. Internships are more than a line on your résumé—they’re an early chapter in your professional story. And how you write that chapter can shape the trajectory of your career in ways you might not expect. As you begin your internship experience, please remember that the purpose of an internship is to help you get professional experience and also help shape your thoughts about your early career priorities.   Whether you walk away from your internship thinking "I love this and want more of it,” or "this field may not be for me," that’s a win. The purpose of an internship is to gain real-world experience, explore your interests, and begin shaping your early career direction. Learning what you don't want to do can be just as valuable as discovering your passion. And here’s something every intern should know: 👉 An internship is also an audition. How you show up—your attitude, your work ethic, your curiosity—can position you for your first full-time job. When you stand out as an intern, people remember. You’re not just doing tasks; you’re building trust, demonstrating potential, and creating future opportunities Here’s my best advice for making the most of your intern experience: 🔹 Be curious. Ask questions—not just about your assignments, but about how the organization works, how leaders make decisions, and how people collaborate. Curiosity shows engagement, and it helps you connect dots others might miss. 🔹 Show up like you belong. Because you do. Don’t wait for permission to contribute. Speak up in meetings, offer to help on projects, and bring your fresh perspective to the table. Confidence grows through action. 🔹 Build relationships. The people around you are part of your learning experience. Find mentors, ask for coffee chats, and get to know the team beyond their titles. Relationships often matter more than résumés in the long run. 🔹 Treat every task like it matters. Whether you’re sitting in on a brainstorm or proofing a deck, your approach to the work speaks volumes. Excellence in the little things builds trust for bigger opportunities. 🔹 Reflect and reset. Take time each week to jot down what you’ve learned and where you want to grow. Internships are about learning—knowing what’s working (and what’s not) is how you evolve. An internship is a two-way street. Yes, you’re there to learn—but you also have value to offer. Be bold, be curious, and be open. You’re building more than experience—you’re building your professional identity. You've got this. 💼✨ #InternshipAdvice #CareerGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment #ReputationMatters #Mentorship 

I was rejected not one, not two, but DOZENS of times when applying for internships going into my junior year of college. To be honest, I had given up. I was discouraged, heartbroken, and in extreme distress😭 I vowed that I would NEVER receive rejections like that again. Sure enough that next Summer not only did I receive multiple internship offers, but I had my dream internship offer. Here’s what I did differently: 1️⃣Turned on job notifications on LinkedIn When I tell you all this made finding internships 5x easier! Because I was looking for internships in DEI at the time, I went to the LinkedIn jobs tab searched “DEI Intern” filtered the experience level specifically by “internships” and “entry level” roles then toggled on the “get job alerts for this search” button at the bottom of the page. After that, every time a new role was added to LinkedIn that matched my search, I was notified! 2️⃣Created a company fast facts sheet This was SO helpful! I wrote down everything that I needed to know about the company from their core values and mission to their current initiatives and projects. I also did a deep dive into the LinkedIn profiles of my interviewers and compiled key points of their roles and responsibilities. I studied this sheet daily so I would be able to leverage some of the information during my interview P.S- It helps if you make the sheet fun and decorative 3️⃣ Tailored my resume and my cover letter to each role As soon as I learned how applicant tracking systems (ATS) work, I did whatever I could to try and beat the system. I found that the cheat code was aligning my resume and cover letter to match key words in the job description. When I tell y’all that this hack changed my life! Tailor those resumes y’all! 4️⃣Came prepared with solutions The goal is always to be one step ahead of your interviewer. When prepping for your interview, keep track of industry trends to find ways that you think the company could improve against their competitors. Then take it a step further and show how you could use your skills to help make that improvement. When asked if you have any questions at the end of the interview try saying something like this: “When doing my research I noticed that Company X doesn’t have [fill in the blank with a process, system, program, etc]. I have skill X, Y, Z relevant to implementing this. Is this something that is in the works or an idea that your team would potentially be interested in?” 5️⃣Tracked my applications This was a game changer! I created an excel sheet that I used to keep track of when I applied to internships so I could monitor the timeline of the process as I proceeded (or didn’t lol) to the next rounds. ——————————————————————- What are some things you’ve done in your internship search that have made a difference? #tipswithtaylor #internships #dreaminternship #internships2024 #collegestudents #intern #techinternship

Here's a transparent look into my recent hiring process for an industrial design intern: 📊 𝗕𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 ~75 applications received ~30 passed email screening 8 interviews 3 final candidates 📆 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 1 week application period 2 weeks of interviews 1 week negotiations/final offer ⚙️ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝟭. 𝗘𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 • I glanced at email applications as they came in • I skimmed but didn't really read in depth • The content didn't really matter but anything jarring could rule out a candidate • E.g. Unusually terse emails, ChatGPT nonsense (with the prompt left in!), addressed to the wrong design firm/person were immediately moved to a "No" folder 𝟮. 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 • I reviewed portfolios (website or PDF) in batches, usually 8-10 at a time • I spent about 30s on each • I didn't go past the front page of the website or the first few pages of the PDF • I looked for things to catch my eye • Any interesting ones were moved to a "Maybe" folder • All others were moved to the "No" folder and notified that they were not being moved forward 𝟯. 𝗜𝗻-𝗱𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 • I looked at the remaining portfolios in more depth • Still only 3-5m on each one • I looked for clearly demonstrated skills, a logical process, and relevance to my own work • I barely read any text, mostly looking at how the process was shown visually • I filtered down to the final set of 7-8 candidates to schedule interviews 𝟰. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲 • I sent out an interview scheduling link • Faster responses and earlier timeslots did have an advantage (interview fatigue can set in after a few) • At this point I was mostly looking for a "spark" to show that they would be a smart and engaged intern • I had 3 final candidates, and made an offer to the top one • Luckily they accepted and we hashed out the details from there 👉 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 I'm only one example, but I think this process is fairly typical for smaller studios. If you're looking for an entry-level ID job or internship, here are a few ways you can stand out: 1. Make your intro email short and sweet, and don't stand out in a bad way 2. Your portfolio first read should hit hard. It's often all you get. 3. Show your process visually and don't overwhelm with too much text 4. Stay on top of interview scheduling. Respond quickly. 5. Be engaging in your interviews. Ask smart questions. Hope this was helpful! Let me know if you have questions in the comments below 👇 Does your hiring process differ? How so? - I’m Anson Cheung, an industrial designer with over a decade of experience designing technology products in Silicon Valley. Follow me for daily insights into a career in industrial design. #industrialdesign #designer

Everyone has been asking me how to get offers at companies like Dell & Tesla I don't go to a top 500 school. I'm an immigrant, so I don’t have uncles at these companies. But I still landed internships at Dell and Tesla, here's how: 1. Hustle, Hustle, Hustle - When I was a freshman, I did everything on campus. Joined every organization, went to every career event, signed up for LinkedIn, Handshake, and even some random platforms my school pushed. This helped to get the attention of professors and faculty. So when a national competition came up (HBCU Battle of the Brains), they nominated me to represent the school. We ended up placing 2nd nationwide, Dell was a sponsor, and a recruiter passed my resume to a hiring manager. That’s how I got the internship. 2. Projects - Do interesting stuff. I'm CEO of Sorce, so I’ve seen thousands of resumes. Everyone has a LangChain chatbot now - that won’t make you stand out. My Tesla manager said the only reason he interviewed me was because of a side project: a tool for detecting AI-generated text right after ChatGPT launched. Do projects that you care about and is interesting. Even better, work on something that's useful and people use. 3. Conferences - Go to conferences and hustle. I got the Tesla internship by handing my resume to a Tesla recruiter at AFROTECH - simple as that. I didn’t even think I was going to be a top candidate, but I shot my shot. Attend every conference you can. Sneak in if you have to. No shame in trying. 4. Numbers - Don't forget the numbers game. Every new application you send is a new shot at goal and increases your odds of getting the internship. It's a marathon. So keep applying for roles, keep connecting with people on linkedin and keep editing your resume. This is also why we built https://lnkd.in/etr6msZG, it's basically AI to help you apply for jobs faster. If there's any other tip I might have missed, please add it in the comments! If you liked this, repost.

Still looking for a summer internship? This past semester, I decided I wanted a part-time internship just one week before the spring semester began. With fewer than 15 applications, I landed 3 interviews and received 2 offers. Here is how I did it. 1. I focused on startups and on-campus jobs  🔹 Startups hire year-round  🔹 They have flexible timelines and quicker interview processes  🔹 They often value skills over experience, perfect if you’re just starting out 2. I mainly used Handshake, strategically  🔹 Filter for roles posted within the last 3 days, and prioritize ones you’re a strong fit for  🔹 If it’s older but aligns well with your background, apply anyway, they might consider you for another similar role  🔹 After applying, go to the job posting, click on the company name, scroll to the People section, and message someone who was recently active 💡 𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘱, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 💬 Keep it short (3–4 sentences):  → Introduce yourself and share why you’re interested  → Highlight how you’re a strong match (use keywords from the job description)  If it helps, I’m happy to share an example of a message I sent. 3. I explored nonprofits and local organizations  You can use Handshake for this too:  🔎 Go to the Employers tab  📍 Filter by location, industry, and company size  🏠 Look for organizations near your hometown If one stands out:  🔹 Check their website for contact info and send a cold email  🔹 Or find someone on LinkedIn and message them directly A short, personalized message can go a long way, even if they’re not actively hiring. This worked for me, even on a late timeline, and I hope it helps someone else who’s still searching! Good Luck! 📷 Just me, Donald, and Goofy casually starting the summer off right. ✨