Internship Experience

How did you prepare for your internship search? What were some of the steps in your preparation, i.e. fine tune resume, cover letter, attend job/internship fair, etc.

We began preparations for our internship search by attending the campus resume review day. This allowed us to get professional feedback on our resume. The resume review day is a great tool available to students and we strongly recommend it. Next, we attended the Career and Internship fair on campus. There we both spoke to a number of employers in the region. However, one company in particular struck our interest. We both spoke to Target team members at the fair and were immediately interested. Target informed us to apply via MonsterTrak. Within a few weeks we both had on-campus interviews set up. It was a very organized and speedy process. This all contributed to a less stressful interview.

What three things would you tell your peers they need to do so they find and secure a great internship?

First, we would suggest building a strong and powerful resume. You do not need a three page resume to impress a company. Keep in mind that the people reading your resume are probably reading another 100 or so. You want to keep your resume short (no more than one page) and packed full of information you feel will seperate you from other candidates. Again, the resume review will help you with this tremendously. Second, when attending a Career Fair, dress professionally. We cannot stress this enough, first impressions are lasting ones. Also, be outgoing and personal. You cannot expect that a representative from a company will come up to you. Be prepared to approach a company of your choice, shake their hand firmly, and give them the best elevator pitch you can. It is so important to give the company a powerful first impression. Lastly, during interviews it is important to relax. We both know how difficult this can be. However, you want the company to get to know the real you, so just smile, laugh, and relax. Chances are, the company will be impressed and relieved to have a candidate that can handle themselves in an uneasy environment.

What did you learn from your internship search that you will apply in future job searches?

The interview skills we both have obtained from this experience will help us in any of our future endeavors. During the course of our Target internship, we both went through four different interviews. By the end, we felt much more comfortable with being interviewed. We have both done quite a bit of interviewing for the stores we worked in as well. It is so different to be sitting on the other side of the table interviewing someone else. We both learned a great deal about what interviewers like to see and what they do not, since we have had the opportunity to play both roles. One suggestion we would like to make to applicants is to interview for any job, even if you do not initially plan on taking it. You might be surprised and want the job after all. If not, you at least practiced your interview skills and learned what types of questions may be asked.

What was the most valuable part of your internship experience? What skills did you gain or enhance as a result of being an intern?

There were countless valuable lessons from out Target internship experience. One of the most important was developing our leadership skills and abilities. Target's internship program is designed to teach you important leadership skills that can be used not only in the work place, but outside of it as well. The goal of this internship is for its interns to become Executive Team Leaders upon graduating from college. It is an unbelievably rewarding program not only for the interns, but Target as well. This internship has given us both more self-confidence as leaders and business professionals.

What advice would you give fellow students to help them get the most from their internship experience?

The most important thing to gain from an internship is the learning experience itself. Unlike Target, a majority of internships are underpaid or not paid at all, so be sure you get the most out of your internship. It is vital that you are able to speak up for yourself. If you feel you are not learning anything from what you are doing, don't be afraid to say so. It is up to you to learn everything you can and truly own your internship experience. You need to decide if you want to learn something valuable for your future, or simply get someone's coffee for the summer. We wish you all the best of luck! Please do not hesitate to contact either of us with questions about our internship experience or if you would like to visit a store.

Greg.Landry@target.com, Brittany.Blair@target.com