Trying to find an internship, go to school, keep up with homework and maintain some aspect of a social life can seem near impossible sometimes. Students are told internships are important, but it’s hard to know where to start looking.

It can seem like a lot of people you see on social media seem to secure internships out of thin air. You can be left feeling like you wish you had known those opportunities were out there, but hadn’t known where to find them. Luckily, University students are given great resources so they, too, can secure the right internship.

Handshake is the newest resource University students have. If you are a student and you have not yet set up your Handshake account, do it immediately. It’s similar to LinkedIn — you post your experiences, skills, clubs and more. It matches you with jobs that fit your interests and talents. The more detailed your Handshake profile the better, because then more jobs and internships you are actually interested in will start to appear on your homepage.

You can also apply to jobs and internships right from Handshake by uploading your resume or cover letter, or save jobs for later. Employers from all over post their jobs on Handshake, and there are a lot of options. Handshake will even tell you if you match up to what the employer is looking for, in terms of interests, grade level and past experiences.

Research Park is another great resource University students have. It is home to a wide array of companies looking for students from the University to work or intern for them.

They have a job board on their website that is constantly being updated with jobs and internships in the parks for start-up companies, or for established companies such as Granular, AbbVie and more. Take a look at this job board every now and then; intern positions range from liberal arts and graphic design to engineering and software developers.

Word of mouth and networking are key when trying to land a great internship. Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities right in your own backyard. Ask your friends, your parent’s friends and trusted co-workers and professors for internship opportunities they might know about that might be a good fit for you.

You never know if you don’t put yourself out there. Go to career fairs and network with the different companies that come to try to find student talent. Keep a list of contacts of places you see as potential employers.

Some of the best internships people acquire come from them asking someone about open opportunities. It can be scary, but networking and putting yourself out there actually benefits you more in the end than you might think. People are usually helpful and want to help nice and respectful students who are looking for internships, so work hard and ask questions. Happy internship hunting!

Courtney is a senior in Media. 

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