Find Your Next Step
Job & Internship Searches

Whether a job or an internship is best for you depends on what you hope to get out of it. Internships are structured, short-term learning experiences, and are best for those who want hands-on experiences to break into a new industry, test out a specific company culture, or build up a portfolio to look competitive on future applications. Jobs are longer-term, and are focused more on results than on learning (though, learning still can be involved!).

Job & Internship Search Timelines

Give yourself plenty of time to apply and interview for opportunities you're interested in! Generally it is good to begin your job or internship search 3-5 months before you hope to start a position, but some industries can recruit 8-9 months prior to their start date! It is important to research your industry of interest because peak recruiting periods vary. For more information on typical recruitment timelines by industry, view the Princeton Recruiting Timelines webpage.

U.S. Job & Internship Search Strategies

It's important to use a variety of strategies when you are conducting your job or internship search: searching online, through your network, and by attending employer-hosted events here in CLA.

Networking & Job Searches

Job Fairs

A job fair (or career fair) is an event where employers come (either virtually or in-person) to provide information about their organizations and meet potential candidates. The goal of job fairs is to build relationships (i.e. network) with employers to learn more about their organizations, discover position openings, and understand what kind of skills they are seeking for their roles.

Often you won’t leave a job fair with a job offer in hand, but you will leave with a better understanding of where you want to apply for positions, how to best represent yourself for those roles, and who to get in touch to learn more or ask questions to.

Find Job & Career Fairs on Handshake

Learn more about job fairs and how to prepare for them on the Job Fair page.

Talk to Your Community

Find “Hidden Opportunities” by talking with people you know about your interests, or reaching out directly to organizations or companies you’re interested in. Especially in the nonprofit sector, many organizations are open to hosting internships but have not created one. Make a connection and request to learn more or ask whether an opportunity exists! Especially if you have flexibility in terms of compensation, or you apply for internship funding for an unpaid opportunity, it may be a successful strategy!

Talk about the type of role you are seeking with your family, friends, classmates, faculty in your department and other contacts. They may be able to help you in your search, or send you relevant opportunities that they may know about.

To learn more about how to build your community authentically, visit the Networking topic.

Employer Events

It isn’t often that employers come to you as a job or internship seeker. But it happens frequently here in CLA! There are a variety of ways that you will definitely want to take advantage of as a CLA student.

Examples: Employer Events

Recruiting Tables in Coffman Memorial Union or in front of CLA Career Services are great opportunities to interact informally with an organization. You can meet the organization's recruiter(s), ask questions, and drop off a resume if you’d like.
Resume Reviews from employers or alumni can be a great way to have another set of eyes take a look at your materials and offer their perspectives. Watch the Events section of our website for days and times.
Employer Panels bring together several employer representatives from different organizations who speak on a panel. Again, there’s lots of time for you to ask questions, and even talk with the speakers afterward.
Student Organization and Classroom Presentations offered by employers are excellent opportunities to learn about organizations and informally interact with employers and/or alumni. Take advantage of these events!

Find Employer Events on Handshake

Online Job Searches

Choose Job Board(s)

A job board is a place that jobs or opportunities are posted. They can range significantly in size and focus; some job boards have a lot of jobs in a wide range of career fields, while others can be small and specialized to a single job category.

Try out some job boards, and see which ones work best for you! We recommend having only a few job boards that you check regularly.

Featured Job Board: HandshakeLinks to an external site.

Handshake is job board for the University of Minnesota, where employers go to recruit UMN students and alumni.

Visit Handshake

Resources: Additional Recommended Job Boards

MN Council of NonprofitsLinks to an external site. — Job and internship possibilities at nonprofits throughout the state.
LinkedIn— Combine your job/internship search with networking and find out who you're connected with at an organization of interest, whether local, national, or global.
Idealist Links to an external site.—Local, national, and international nonprofits and NGOs (non-governmental organizations) hiring for full-time employment, internships, and volunteer roles.
USA jobsLinks to an external site.—Official job search website of the United States government.

Tip: Finding Other Job Boards

Explore the career field specific search sites by visiting the career field page of the CLA Career Services website that matches your interests and clicking on "Job & Internship Search"
Search online for job boards related to the type of work that you are looking for, like remote work (e.g. FlexjobsLinks to an external site., We Work RemotelyLinks to an external site.) or freelance work (e.g. FiverrLinks to an external site., UpworkLinks to an external site.).
Search online for job boards that search to recruit those with specific identities, like veterans (Recruitmilitary.com, Federal Jobs for Military Veterans), folks with disabilities (e.g. AbilityJobs or DisabledPersons), or LGBTQ+ folks (TJobBank, OutProfessionals, or OutandEqual).
Professional organizations often devote a portion of their websites to job and internship postings. Use the Professional Association FinderLinks to an external site. to start exploring relevant organizations to you.
- Note: not every professional organization will have a job board!

Job Board Tips & Tricks

There are three main tips for using job boards: selectively automating, using filters, and searching keywords.

Automate the Search

Set up notifications/emails selectively. Don't overwhelm yourself with job emails. Keep it to a few that are specific to your areas of interest. If they don't work for you, unsubscribe!

Use the Filters

Filters on job boards are a great way to limit the amount of irrelevant postings you will see as you search through a job board.

Here are a few that we recommend looking out for:

Date Posted: The more recently a job has been posted, the better! Avoid applying for jobs that have been posted for more than a few weeks.
Location/Modality filters
Type (part-time, full-time, internship, etc.)

You can play around with these settings to find the ones that bring up the most relevant jobs for you!

Keywords

Keywords are the terms that you use in the search bar to help the job board pull up relevant listing. It's important to be mindful of the ones you use, so you can be sure you're getting the most relevant postings.

Try to search by things like:

desired job titles
industry-specific tools
company names
field or industry

Tip: Avoid The "Easy Apply" Pitfall

Streamlined application processes (like "easy apply") systems are a common pitfall that can ultimately make your job search harder and more frustrating.

"Easy Apply" buttons essentially flood job postings with a large amount of applications, making it much more difficult for an employer to find the right candidates. With a large amount of candidates, the employers will often use AI software to assess candidates, and sort based on how many keywords or phrases are on their resume. So, if you don't have exactly what they are looking for, it is unlikely that your materials will ever be seen.

It's best to balance your time and energy by creating strong applications for the roles that interest you the most, while still applying for a few roles per week. Make sure to pace your applications, and create application materials tailored to each role. For more information on how to do this, see the Resume Basics and the Cover Letter pages of this Canvas site.

Staying Organized

Track Your Job Applications

Keeping possible jobs open as tabs on your computer slows down your internet, and serves as a constant reminder of your stress. We suggest finding an organization system that works for you. For example, you can use a spreadsheet (job application tracking spreadsheet or this comprehensive job application tracker template) or you can find job search tracking tools like HuntrLinks to an external site. or TealLinks to an external site..

Set Boundaries

Because jobs are a large part of many people's lives, job searching can quickly get complicated. Navigating those complications is tiring! Be sure to be strategic about when/how/how long you are doing your search, to ensure that you are being most effective while not burning yourself out.

Avoiding Scams & Frauds Online

Spotting Scams in Online Job Searches

Unfortunately, fraudulent or misleading job postings happen. It's important to make sure you know what signs to look out for to ensure you're making informed decisions and keeping yourself safe. Below are some "Red Flags" to keep an eye out for while in your search.

If it looks too good to be true, it very well could be. If a company is offering a very high salary for a role, offers a lot of benefits (you can be your own boss, start your own business, or set your own schedule), and asks for little to no experience, it may be an indication that it's a fraudulent or misleading job posting.
Upfront payments should not be included in applications. If a posting asks for you to pay to apply for a role, or take a lot of trainings or certificates that cost money, it is possible it is a fraudulent employer. You should be paid through a job, not paying to participate.
If you were invited to interview or offered a job you didn't apply for, be cautious. This may be a trick to get you to share your personal information, putting you at risk.
New or sparse social media accounts or websites. It is quite easy to make a social media page or website. Try to look for signs if it has been recently created, or is not active.
Vague or unclear job description. Sometimes, job postings will use buzzwords and vague statements to mislead applicants to apply for roles that are different from the application (e.g. a social media specialist role that is really just running a mall kiosk).

Tips: Avoiding Scams Online

Stay on monitored job boards, like Handshake. Handshake is built for college students, and is vetted and school-approved.
Try to send applications through the organization's website whenever possible. That way, you can make sure your application is going to the right place, and that it isn't misleading or out of date.
Make sure the web address includes "https://" at the beginning, not "http://." And, make sure that the email domains match what is typical for the organization. Scammers may add extra letters or words to their email domains to try to trick people into thinking they are the real organization (e.g. @fedexx instead of @fedex).
Look for complaints online. Better Business Bureau (BBB), or Glassdoor can be great places to look for reports of fraudulent hiring practices.

Reporting Fraudulent Postings

While we do our best to keep Handshake updated and safe, it's important that you share any concerning behavior or content you see. If you believe an employer on Handshake is fraudulent, or if they take part in discriminatory or illegal behavior, it's important that you report them so that we can review this information and act accordingly. For more information, see the Handshake Help Center's page on Flagging an Employer.

If you run into or experience a fraudulent company or job posting outside of Handshake , you can always report it to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and the job board you found the posting on so they can review it. In addition, we also recommend letting the CLA Career Services Employer Relations team know (hirecla@umn.edu) so that we can make sure to keep an eye out for future postings.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How do I know if I'm qualified for a job?

When employers write an internship or job description, it is their wish list of what they are seeking. So don’t be put off if you don’t have 100% of the preferred qualifications they are looking for! If you have about 70% of the qualifications, then you should consider applying.

It is rare to see a job posting seeking zero years of experience. Most will say at least 1-3 years, and these are the entry-level positions you should be applying for because your coursework, internship, part-time job experience, etc. counts as experience.

Are job searches different internationally?

While the end goal is always the same, the way you approach your search (where you search, how you write your applications, and norms for interviewing) can vary from country to country.

If you are looking to apply for roles outside of the U.S., the best place to fin information is GoinGlobalLinks to an external site.. . Access this resource through HandshakeLinks to an external site. to find where to look, how to look, as well as information about workplace culture and navigating visas.

I'm not hearing back after I apply for jobs. What can I do?

It is a frustrating and tiring experience to send your resume out and get nothing but silence in return. It's an unfortunately common experience, and it’s rarely a reflection of your actual capability.

If you aren't hearing back about a role you're really excited about, you can consider reaching out to follow up on your application. Just make sure to not do this too soon after your application; we generally recommend to wait about 2 weeks.

You can also consider adjusting your application strategy. Here are a few general tips we recommend:

Try to apply for recently posted jobs. If it was posted more than one month ago, it is less likely that they are still actively hiring for the role.
Make sure your application materials include keywords from the role. Using the same language from the job description in your resume and cover letter can help employers (and any software they use) to see how you are qualified for the role.
Prioritize applying on an organization's website instead of the "easy apply" buttons elsewhere. Taking the time to put in a full application makes it more likely that your application will be seen and taken seriously.
Focus on networking. Having someone at the organization who knows you and can vouch for you makes the world of a difference. You may also hear about roles that aren't even posted online!

Also remember that you are not the only one experiencing this. For more information, you can also watch the webinar recording: (Video) Rejection in the Job Search.

Why shouldn't I just use online job boards for my search?

It's helpful to remember that there are two sides to the job search equation: while you're looking for a job, an employer is looking for an employee! And we, as humans, look for the easiest strategy.

For employers looking to fill roles, the easiest route is to find internal referrals to the role, or someone within their existing network. That way, they have someone who can vouch for them, and they put in less effort.

For job seekers, it's the opposite: starting with resumes/online job boards before moving to networking. As a job seeker, you want to be aware of this difference, and make some attempts to make connections at the organizations you're applying for.

Job seekers start with easier steps, and then move onto networking. For employers, it's the opposite direction.