Timeline for finding an internship/full-time job

My Story #

I came into college having worked as a cashier, a Human Resources assistant, and various other clerical roles. I had no experience applying and interviewing for a technical internship or job. My first technical internship in college was fall semester of my fourth year. These are some pointers based on my own experiences, so you don’t have to suffer like I did. There is some existing literature out there, should you care to read it.

May - August #

Use the summer to bulk up your resume

• Work on side projects and fill your github/behance/portfolio/etc. with projects for recruiters and potential employers to assess your skillset
  
• Update your resume: previous semester’s classes, current GPA, current internship responsibilities and projects, upcoming classes, significant side projects you have completed
  
• If you don’t have a personal website or github.io page set up, now is the time. Look here if you don’t know how.
  
• Have your complete resume ready by the end of the summer/beginning of September; it will save you a lot of work and time when you start to ramp up for classes
  

September #

If possible, reach out to people in your network who have interned/are working full-time at companies you would like to work for so that they can refer you. More often than not, this is the surest and easiest way to get an interview. Otherwise…

• Attend all relevant career fairs (at the least, the Cal Career Fair and the EECS Career Fair)
  
• Look at the list of companies attending the fair and make as many copies of your resume for companies you really like + ~10 more copies for good measure
  
• Tailor your resume for a specific company and/or position type (ex. one version for front-end web dev with relevant projects and skills, another version for full-stack, general software dev, etc); this can even be done in the summer by knowing what you want to do and looking at a list of employers who attended the career fair in previous years
  

This is necessary/good because:

• Many companies are looking for specific knowledge/keywords (languages you know, environments you’ve worked in, technologies you’ve used, relevant projects, etc)
  

• Looking at relevant skills and what you choose to highlight from your past experiences will give the employer a better idea of the job you are suited for than will a “career objective” or saying “I’ve always been interested in a little bit of everything…”

• Set aside ~2 hrs to attend large career fairs and hand out your resume/speak to recruiters

• Follow up with any recruiters you speak to at the fair with a brief intro, resume, and github link within 2 days of the fair via e-mail AND/OR apply online or complete other necessary job process steps online that you are asked to do at the fair

September - November #

Participate in on-campus recruiting (OCR)/the interviewing process

• Send a follow-up e-mail after each interview
  
• Deal with waiting/acceptances/rejections
  
• Regardless of the outcome, send an e-mail to the company thanking them for their time (you never know what will happen in the future)
  

November - December #

• If you receive more than one offer, decide between offers or leverage your current offers to secure a job closer to your ideal
  

Follow this guide, and you will hopefully be employed before your spring semester/winter quarter begins.