Last summer, Tim Schluth ‘24 was looking for a summer job. Searching for an opportunity, Schluth realized it was sitting in his back pocket: a flier he received in December of 2021 from an advisor listing a nonprofit internship opportunity. He was looking to make some money before going abroad, but it was preferable that his job would align with his interest in politics. In the end, he felt like he truly lucked out. 

“The nonprofit I worked with was based in Baltimore and was called Break a Difference. They did a lot of work coordinating immersions and service projects for both youth and corporate employees,” Schluth said. 

The opportunities vary but getting started sooner rather than later is something Schluth suggests from his own internship experiences.

“Not that it’s always easy, but I would advise people to start looking early and to try really hard to find a paid internship if possible. We’re young and maybe not the most experienced, but our work is worth something and we’ll be a lot happier with employers who recognize that,” Schluth said.

He encourages students to take into consideration that internships are not achieved overnight. Creating resumes and organizing cover letters takes time and attention to detail. For some, however, the search for internships can be intimidating and stressful. 

Rizzo Career Center employee Braya Markley ‘23 said, “I think internships are really daunting. I think that students, a lot of times, don’t know where to start. Reach out, go to office hours, go to your professors, really get to know them.”

College students frequently utilize online platforms such as LinkedIn and Glassdoor to locate internships as well as jobs ranging from part time to full time opportunities. However, not all internships are found this way. Eileen Hiebler, Director of Partnerships and Recruiting, believes how a student represents themselves through their application, resume, cover letter and other required documents, can potentially limit or expand the opportunities. 

“We always say that the job description is like a secret code. So, the job description is very much specific to the role itself,” Hiebler said. “And, we absolutely recommend a one-page resume so you can take things off as you go to other companies so that again you’re lining up the resume and your document with what they’re looking for.”

Located in the Rizzo Career Center, the Fernandez Center helps students find a variety of academic resources available to us,e such as the professional staff members and the online hiring platform called Handshake.

“We offer one-on-one coaching appointments where students can come and meet with one of our team members and go through the whole search process. All of the roles that Loyola is contacted about, for our students for internships that companies want to post, all go on to Handshake,” Hiebler said. 

Handshake is a hiring platform, similar to resources like LinkedIn and Glassdoor, that advertises internships and jobs. The difference between Handshake and these alternative programs is that Handshake primarily serves college students, providing them with a wide variety of internship opportunities to apply to.

“The beauty of Handshake is that it is built for the college population. So in other words, there should not be roles appearing that require 10 years experience. For example, these are roles that are more entry level or more, again, built for the college population.” 

For more information on internships and the services provided by the Rizzo Career Center, click here.

Featured Image courtesy of Bridget Botelho.