Stop Wasting Time Submitting 100’s of Applications to Your College’s Internship Portal. Here Are 5 Reasons Finding An Upperclassmen Mentor Will Cut Your Internship Search Time In Half

I wasted time submitting > 200 applications through my college’s portal. Didn’t get one response.

If you’re a college freshman/sophomore drowning in the stress of trying to land a summer internship - you’re not alone. You’re probably slowly starting to accept the fact that you’ll end up as a hostess at your Aunt’s restaurant back home this summer…..

I was fed up. Luckily, I worked up the courage to email a SR that had my dream internship. I wanted to see HOW TF he did it. I asked him to meet for coffee & it was all downhill from there…

I landed an internship at my #1 choice (elite boutique investment bank in NYC) just 2 months later. I then became President of our school's investment banking organization & helped dozens of other kids do the same.

Reason 1: Companies Rely on Word of Mouth > College Resume Portals

• The resume portal is a BLACK HOLE.
• If you don’t have someone inside the club asking HR to get your resume pushed forward out of the thousands that they get a day - you’re kidding yourself.

Reason 2: They Know The Right People

• My mentor told me to email one full-time analyst he became friends with over the summer
• That email turned → phone calls with five more firm employees → 1st round interview
• Point is - if the college SR can’t directly push your resume, they will show you who can

Reason 3: Humans = Wired to Help “Younger Versions” of Ourselves

• My mentor said he respected the eagerness & drive and 99% are too scared to reach out
• Upperclassmen won’t make fun of you for sending a funky-worded email. We were you 2yr ago
• Giving back for us is usually more rewarding than getting our own offers.

Reason 4: They Know What Interviewers Look For In Answers & Resumes

• The questions I ended up getting asked in the company’s interview were the exact same as the ones he mocked me with - with the exception of changing up a couple numbers.
• The answers he used 2yr ago clearly worked. So, I structured mine in the same way.

Reason 5: They Want Cool Future Co-Workers

• By the time you come in as an intern, they’ll probably be working there full-time
• Everyone wants a team with eager go-getters
• Plus, they’ll get to brag to their co-workers for recruiting you if you’re a stud