by Anita DeCianni-Brown, Career Development Coordinator

Internships provide so many advantages and are a great way to gain career or industry experience, which can help you with your career goals. They can give you the opportunity to gain valuable experience in your field while working on your degree and to develop valuable skills that employers seek. Internships also give you some insight into career paths and the industry. In some cases, they can lead to job offers within the organization after completing your degree. Additionally, is a chance to expand your professional connections, which may be useful in the future.  

The search for an internship is similar to a job search. Some organizations have only a limited number of placements available and may have more applicants than they can accommodate. With that in mind, it is best to prepare in advance for internship opportunities you wish to pursue. You can expect the internship process to take two to three months. In addition to finding and confirming an opportunity, paperwork needs to be set up with the host site and SUNY Empire. If you are considering an internship for Fall 2021, your search should begin in May.  

Steps to pursuing an internship: 

• Discuss with your mentor the possibility of incorporating an internship in your degree plan. If an internship is unpaid, it will need to be incorporated into your degree plan. 
• Develop/update your resume. In almost all cases, you need to submit a resume when applying for an internship. For tips on writing or updating your resume and cover letter, visit the resources on our Career Services website. To set up an appointment, contact Anita DeCianni-Brown the collegewide career development coordinator at Brown@esc.edu.  
• There are many resources available to you in a search for an internship. Take advantage of several avenues in order to find the right opportunity. We suggest: 
• College Central Network (CCN): SUNY Empire’s job-posting system is powered by CCN. View and apply for career opportunities through the system. 
• New New York Leaders: These are internship opportunities available in state government.
• Faculty/mentor connections: Faculty and mentors are a great resource for connections in their field. Inquire about opportunities they are aware of or contact information they can share. 
• Personal connections/networking: More than 80% of job opportunities are obtained through networking. Think about organizations you may be interested in pursuing and see who in your network could be a connection with that organization.   
• Online Career and Job Resources: On our career services website we list more than 40 different online job-opportunity databases.  

For more information about pursuing an internship at SUNY Empire State College, visit our career services site.