Researching Internship Employers and Writing the Winning Resume

By Anne Alexander Sieder On February 13, 2012 · Leave a Comment

As promised, we’re back again to talk with professor of Fashion and Design at Missouri State University, Michele M. Granger, all about how to get an internship that will help you blossom and open doors. In short, an internship should be your entry into the world of design, not as a grunt but as a valued member in training of the team. Securing the most amazing internship possible is the dream of many of us and has the potential to launch a dream career. Whether you are in college or in a job and ready for a change, a great internship opens doors and connects you to a new network. Locating and securing internship challenges you to look forward and provides a foundation on which to build your future. Perhaps Dorothy Draper said it best, “Never look back, except for an occasional glance, look ahead and plan for the future. Success is not built on past laurels, but rather on a continuous activity. Keep busy searching out new ideas and, experimentally, keep ahead of the times, or at least up with them.”

As it is a big job to secure a great job, we’ve broken the internship search into a series of 3 articles: (1) Researching Internship Employers and Writing the Winning Resume, (2) Writing a Stellar Letter of Application, and (3) Interviewing for Fun and Profit. The first of the series, Researching Internship Employers and Writing the Winning Resume, is all about preparation—researching prospective internship employers, learning more about their companies, and putting together a resume that fits with their company needs and preferences.

What do you mean by “researching prospective employers?”

It’s so easy to get excited when you believe you have found the dream internship position; however, hundreds of candidates may be applying for this position and not digging deep into an employer can prove to be a costly mistake. You can be certain that employers are checking your references, online profile (including Facebook), and credentials before extending an offer. You would be remiss to not do the same with any internship employer. The more you know about a company, the better able you will be to communicate your value to this employer through your application—your resume and letter of application (i.e., cover letter)—and, later, during the interview.

Why do I need to research employers? I’m ready to find that great internship now!

The hard work that you put into your research pays off by reflecting your interest and enthusiasm to employers, and providing you with the confidence that you can secure that internship. Taking the time to learn about a company with which you want an internship is a form of flattery to company representatives. Take a closer look at why you should research employers, what to look for, and how to investigate like a Sherlock Holmes.

To determine if the company is a fit for you and if you are right for the company. Look for the right fit for your skill sets, values, or corporate culture preferences.

To help tailor your resume and letter of application to the position. Knowing specifically what makes the company successful can turn your application into the winning ticket.

To help you prepare and effective cover letter now, and effective interview questions later. Knowing specific industry information or advanced product knowledge can get you closer to an offer as you impress the interviewer with insightful questions and answers.

To demonstrate sincere interest in the company. A common interview question is “Why do you want to work for us?” One of the most important ways to distinguish yourself in an interview is to be able to talk about the organization intelligently.

To educate yourself about a particular career path in the industry. Perhaps this internship is in a new sector of the industry for you. Get in the know before writing your application and heading to the interview.

OK, I’m convinced. When do I research employers?

The best time to research employers is before you prepare your resume and letter of application to request an interview with a company.

Where do I start looking?

The goal is to develop two lists: one of companies for which you are interested in interning, and another of resources to research businesses. Next are examples of a few good places to start the second list, resources to research businesses.

Corporate Web Site. Look for industry information, product or service details, and management information. Most corporate sites indicate company age, size, ownership, locations, and leadership or management details. Check the Web site to see if the company is public or private. A review of annual reports may reveal interesting corporate details such as the firm’s financial situation, health of the industry, mission statement, and employee numbers.

Search engines (like Google). Search forums, Web sites, blogs, and online articles that will enable you to see what others have to say about the company’s products, services, and employee relations. You may be surprised. Take these as they are—opinions and comments. Make a decision that is based on facts, yet allows room for majority opinion.

Consumer and Trade Publications. Research the employer’s industry activity through print, in addition to Internet, sources. Read magazines, newspapers, trade publications, and journals related to the field and organization.

Trade Association. Is the company affiliated with an association? Consult association Web sites to learn more about the prospective internship employer.

Chamber of Commerce. You may want to begin by contacting the chambers of commerce in the communities in which the companies you are interested are located in. Often, you will find a searchable comprehensive directory online.

Public Relations and Promotions. Check out any product or service advertisements the company runs in the media. Locate press releases about the company; many companies have these at their Web sites under “Press” or “About Us.”

It’s time for me to go to my desk and get to work! What kind of information should I uncover?

Know what you are looking for before you go online. Keep a list beside you so that you can check off items as you locate them. An electronic spreadsheet is ideal to post information as you find it. Talking from experience, it’s easy to get frustrated or disinterested in the research phase without organized records. Highlight, post it, clip it—just be sure to organize your findings by company.

Bookmark major Web sites as you come across them. Most browsers will even allow you to create folders or directories to organize the links even further. Print hard copies of important information, or save copies of the documents on your computer instead.

Although the Internet will be an invaluable research resource, college, university, or local libraries are still some of the best places to locate information. The reference librarian should be able to point you in the direction of many useful directories and indexes. Examples include: Dunn and Bradstreet reports, Standard & Poor’s Corporation Records, World Business Directory, and Ward’s Business Directory. Now that you now know where to look for general information, you may want to format a spreadsheet of which details to uncover. Consider these topics when researching an internship employer:

Mission, philosophy, and objectives of the company

Financial standing, including assets, earnings, and losses

Company ownership (e.g., private or public, sole proprietorship or partnership, foreign or domestic ownership, etc.)

Company divisions or subsidiaries

Board of Directors or Advisory Board

General reputation of the company

History or background

Products (to include services) that the company sells or provides

Target market or clientele list

Strategies and goals

Market positioning or repositioning

Areas of specialization

New projects and major achievements

Age of company

Size of the company and number of employees

Patterns of growth or decline and forecast of future growth

Recent issues or events (e.g., layoffs or hiring, closings or expansion, etc.)

Location of the company headquarters and other company locations

Office/facility environment

Services or products sold or provided

Career path or other opportunities within the company upon internship completion

Sounds like a lot of work…

Finding the right internship is work. Researching a prospective employer is work, but the results can be very rewarding. You are not simply applying for an internship. Think of these efforts as the jumpstart for your career (and an amazing future paycheck). We both know this: You are your most important investment of time and energy.

Agreed! Once the employer research is finished, it’s on to the resume. There is a ton of information available on creating a resume. What are your tried-and-true resume tips?

Perfection is the goal here, no matter if your resume is scanned and e-mailed, sent through the postal system, or hand-delivered. There are some tips specific to e-mailed resumes, but—first—follow these tried-and-true resume tips as you work toward resume perfection.

Always use spell-check.

Begin with a goal or an objective. It should include key words.

For Education, include your major, minor, month and year of graduation. Include your grade point average, but only if 3.0 or higher (this is the general rule).

Work Experience should include internships and part-time jobs (within reason).

If lacking relevant employment experience, include information about projects that would relate to the position for which you are applying.

Include activities and projects that do not necessarily education and work experiences, such as volunteer work, keeping in mind these tips:

Identify the skills and experiences you will need in your target field and look for organizations where you can gain these.

If you held a leadership position in an organization or headed up a committee, include this information on your resume.

Have a variety of experiences to demonstrate your ability to work with a range of people.

Many companies place a high value on community service activities, such as volunteer work on campus, your community, or the world community.

List specific skills related to your career goals, such as computer skills, language fluency, international experiences, etc.

Include certifications and licensing, such as ASID and NASDIQ.

If you have a college degree, you may choose to list courses relating to the potential internship—or not. These can be listed on a separate sheet of paper, along with a brief description if the course title does not adequately explain them. If you have other training, such as seminars or continuing education courses relating to the internship opportunity, be sure to include these.

Keep it to one page—no more than two. While you may have a number of great experiences, you have to summarize these into a page or two to

For hard copies, use light-colored, standard size (8 1/2″ x 11″ or A4) paper. Use high-quality paper and a good printer. Choose white, eggshell, beige or light gray paper. Avoid “grainy” paper.

Place your name and contact information at the top of each page. Use a paperclip to hold the resume and letter of application together, rather than a staple. Having your name and contact information on the top of each page assures that, if they get separated, the reader can put them back together.

Do not fold the hard copy of your resume; send it in a flat envelope.

What are the tricks of the trade for sending a scannable or e-resume? Is there anything different that I need to know?

Many resumes are scanned and entered into a database by prospective internship employers, where they are reviewed. To ensure that your resume is scannable, keep the following information in mind.

Format. To maximize the computer’s ability to read your resume, submit the cleanest possible format and use a standard resume format. This is not the time to get creative or fancy with your resume. “But,” you may say, “I want my resume to stand out,” or, “I’m in a creative field and I don’t want to appear bland.” In these cases, send in a standard resume for scanning purposes and then create another resume with a more creative layout to be given out the interview.

Use standard, easy-to-read fonts, such as Helvetica, Arial, and Times.

Use a font size between 10 and 14 points.

Avoid script, italic, and underlined text; bold is usually fine.

Avoid graphics or shading.

Spell out ampersands (&) and percentage (%) signs, as scanners have difficulty interpreting them.

Horizontal and vertical lines should be used sparingly, or not used at all.

Save your resume in a rich text file (RTF) format. This is readable by nearly all word processors.

Use common resume headings such as Goal or Objective, Work Experience or Employment, Skills, Accomplishments, Education, Professional Affiliations, etc.

What is your best advice for resumes submitted online?

Key words rule. Most resumes submitted online, and often by snail mail, are screened—not by a human, but by a computer. The computer scans the resume for key words that describe what the interviewer or Human Resources Department is seeking. If the resume does not contain many of the key words, it never goes past the computer gateway. It doesn’t seem fair, but it’s a fact. Look at the job posting and notice the words used to describe the duties and requirements of the position, then use these in the letter of application and resume. After identifying key words, use nouns versus verbs whenever possible. Resume tracking systems look for nouns (key words) as opposed to action verbs. The more key words the computer scan locates in your resume, the greater your opportunity for a match and then an interview!

Sample Resume for Design Internship

Michele was generous enough to let us use this article adapted from her book, The Fashion Intern. The subject is obviously broad and Michele just touched on some of the main points. For much more information, including resources and more, you might want to consider investing in the book yourself. Next week we’ll be continuing this series with: Writing a Stellar Letter of Application (i.e., cover letter) and Interviewing for Fun and Profit! If you can’t wait though, you might want to check out a Michele’s past article which explains all about building a design portfolio.