For university and college students looking to gain valuable experience before entering the workforce, summer internships are a great option. By May, most companies have done heavy recruitment on university campuses, but there are still several avenues available to students looking to secure a last minute summer internship.

Diligence, combined with some of the following tips, could land you that perfect summer role:

Build soft skills

The majority of soon-to-be or recent graduates won’t have a ton of work experience – so this is where soft skills can be a significant factor in landing you a role. Consider skills like leadership, teamwork, and problem solving – These can be exemplified by joining clubs, holding a leadership position, volunteering, or being published in university journals.

Employers understand the demanding nature of school programs and see value when young people can juggle multiple things at once.

Reach out

You’ve probably heard before that a lot of internship opportunities come through personal connections. While it can be helpful to utilize friends of friends, or friends of parents – You can still reach out to people you don’t know! LinkedIn has made this quite possible.

If there are specific companies you are interested in working with, find out who works in their HR department and send a message. Not all summer positions will be listed.

If possible, you can also find people on LinkedIn who have done summer internships in your industry in the past. Shoot them a message and offer to buy them a coffee. This is a great way to determine how they secured the role, and what skills might be helpful to do so. Generally speaking, people are quite receptive to internship seekers when they were in that same positon not long ago. 

Give yourself a background check

With social media being as ubiquitous as it is, most university students have a strong online presence through Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Give your past content a scroll through and make sure none of it is inappropriate or in bad taste. Also consider changing your privacy settings if you haven’t already!

Interview like a pro

For internships, your interview and people skills will be a greater differentiator than your resume will be. Your qualifications can get you in the door, but a standout interview will be the x factor.

Some quick interview tips: Dress the part, make eye contact, and do your research.

What does adequate research look like? Go beyond company mission and values, check out their blog. Have they been in the news lately? What are some recent accomplishments? Come to the interview equipped with questions and show that you’ve gone beyond their home page and the job description.

TPD is hiring for tons of short-term and contract roles with clients all around North America - Check out our Job Board below to find work for the summertime: