In recent years, internships have become essential for college students looking to gain experience before entering the workforce. Despite this, the competitive nature of searching for internships can be discouraging and time-consuming.
Seattle is considered a top city for industries like tech and business primarily due to large companies like Amazon and Microsoft being based in the area. These industries often have more jobs and internships available than others, providing more opportunities for students in related majors. Other fields, especially those in the humanities, provide far fewer chances and higher levels of competition.
A quick search for “business internships in Seattle” on LinkedIn, a popular search engine for internships and career networking, provides over 4,000 results. Similar searches for “communications internships,” “humanities internships” and “psychology internships” provide fewer than 100.
Via Tay, a first-year accounting major, shared their own experiences career building while at Seattle U.
“Being a business major has definitely made it easier,” Tay said. “Albers has so many resources as well as professors that have connections to internships. Additionally, almost all business-related internships are paid, so there’s less worry.”
Despite these perks, competition is still rampant within the industry.
“I applied to around 40 or 50 internships this year and only heard back from less than 10 of them,” Tay said.
This experience is far from uncommon. Students have experienced long wait times to hear back from employers, a lack of responses and predatory companies. Third-year Psychology Major Anai Quintanilla shared their experience looking for internships.
“As a whole, finding work in the psychology field isn’t too difficult, but I do feel that there is an overabundance of less than desirable internships where they are obviously only looking for free or cheap labor and nothing beyond that,” Quintanilla said.
In recent years, many companies have increased their hiring requirements to keep up with the increasingly competitive job market, making internships practically a requirement for many fields. This pressure can be a major source of stress for students already worried about their future opportunities.
“For psychology at least, I feel like [internships are] basically required, especially when you’re an undergrad. You mainly need them to get to know people in your field and attempt to gain some hands-on experience,” Quintanilla said. “There’s a lot of pressure from counselors, parents, and professors to find one. It’s definitely a constant stressor going on in the back of my mind.”
Students are eager to get positions and face relentless pressure to join the market.
“The job market is so competitive that any way to stand out or get connections could be the difference between a job and unemployment,” Tay added. “It’s definitely a lot of pressure since Seattle is a major city where people with way more experience than me are struggling to find employment.”
While the internship process may be stressful, Seattle University provides several resources to assist students. One such group is Seattle U’s branch of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). The organization seeks to support students going into public relations, marketing and more by hosting tours of PR firms in the area and providing help with resumes and job applications.
As a fourth-year communication and media major, PRSSA Co-president Angelina Riley has seen and experienced firsthand the difficulties students face when seeking internships.
“It’s looking a lot like the job market,” Riley said. “From what I’ve experienced and witnessed, students are applying to 20 or 30 internships and they’re maybe hearing back from one or two. I secured my first internship just this year with the City of Seattle, and it did take me like a couple of months to hear anything. I think I applied back in September and didn’t hear back or anything until late November.”
According to Riley, part of this difficulty can come from the tendency students have to only apply to the largest, most well-known internships they can find. These large companies may offer better pay or more job security, but they also have the most competition. Reaching out to smaller organizations may improve the chances of receiving a response. This, however, can come with its own risks.
“I see, at least for communications majors or marketing, you’ll often see something that says it’s communications or social media, when it’s really just door-knocking and selling knives or something,” Riley said. “You just have to make sure you look at the website and really understand what that organization or company is. That’s why people gravitate towards those larger companies, it’s easier to get information on them.”
Riley recommends resources such as Greenhouse and Glassdoor, which allow users to read reviews of various workplaces. LinkedIn also allows users to see if Seattle U alumni work at a given company, potentially providing a resource for connections and honest opinions on jobs and internships.
PRSSA provides help to all students, not only those who plan on going into PR. They also frequently work with the Career Engagement Office, which provides support and assistance to students looking to start their internship process. One of the best ways to stay updated on internship opportunities is to connect with professors.
The job and internship market is constantly changing, due to the current economy and market. However, utilizing the resources available to students such as connections with clubs and professors can help ease this intimidating process.
