Pitch Your Remote Internship - a Five-Step Approach
In these turbulent times, many summer internships are converting to remote opportunities. Unfortunately, a number are simply being canceled. According to NACE (the National Association of Colleges and Employers), about 16% of employers have reported revoking internship offers for this summer. In a world where businesses are intensely focused on current conditions, internships may not be a top priority.
However, college students know that internships are often the key to a full-time offer. While internships may be less plentiful, that’s no reason to give up on landing a meaningful summer experience.
The traditional model is for companies to take on interns and, in many cases, team them with current employees to simply help out or to work on defined projects. With fewer spots available, students may need to take a different approach to secure an internship.
I suggest students take control of the situation and pitch their internships to prospective companies. That is,
do your research on a company,
attempt to figure what drives their business, and
pitch a specific project on which you can work remotely.
Granted, this takes more work than expressing interest in being an intern. But tougher times call for fresh approaches. Here’s my five-step approach.
Identify companies that interest you.
Research what they do.
Find people in the company to whom you can reach out. Scour your LinkedIn connections and your college alumni database. If you can’t find a connection, do some sleuthing on the company website and Google. Be creative!
Craft an email expressing an interest in performing a virtual internship for them. Suggest two or three possible projects you think might be helpful. Some ideas include: searching for marketing opportunities for them, building presentations and marketing materials, doing industry/market research, and working on their social media presence. Don’t worry about the pitch not being specific enough.
When reaching out to people at companies of interest, suggest they call you, or alternatively, you will reach out to them again. It may take a few attempts to connect; people often don’t respond on the first try. Try another email or perhaps a phone call. It’s fair game to try three times, spread out by a week each. You will be rewarded for your persistence.
You may not hit upon a project that resonates with the person you reach. But it will demonstrate your initiative, start gears turning about other possible projects, and begin a conversation.
This is an opportunity to differentiate yourself from the pack. Instead of asking for a summer job, pitch a project, and get your foot in the door.
Good luck!
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I offer individualized career coaching and advising (remote and in-person) along with text, email, and phone support to help job seekers succeed. I’ve hired more than 100 people and interviewed over 500 candidates. I’ve worked at large global companies like Morgan Stanley and a company that is now part of Bank of America Private Bank and founded/worked at six startups. I welcome you to contact me and join my mailing list and receive my free guide, “Top 5 Young Adult Job Search Myths.”