USA Internship Journey

" Upstate NY from the plane window that took me back home from the USA to Palestine"
11th May 2012

How can I find an internship? Where should I search? Which sectors should I be looking? From whom should I seek help? How much time does it take to find an internship? These and many more questions were floating around in my mind before I had my internship in the US, and I am sure most students had and will have the same concerns that I had.

In this article, I will share my experience about my internship in the US. I am not going to give advice; I am only sharing what happened in my case.  It is up to you to analyze my journey’s ups and downs.

            It’s August 2011.I arrived at State University of New York in Cobleskill to study my junior year via the NESA cultural exchange scholarship, sponsored by the US Department of State. One requirement of NESA was getting an internship with these conditions:
1. Unpaid internship.
2. Off-campus.
3. In the spring semester.
4. Related to our major.

Given these conditions, this meant I had only four months to accomplish the mission.  And it shouldn’t be on campus. Cobleskill is small town in upstate New York which therefore meant I had limited options.

From my point of view, the most efficient way of getting the internship was through my connections in the school, however, I am an international student who didn’t yet  know even  where to go shopping!  My strategy of finding an internship was based on working in two paths in parallel;

1. Seeking help from an advisor,

2. Working hard to achieve “A” grades at my business courses.  

            The first thing I did was to seek help from my advisor in the international student office at the University. Automatically, in the fall semester she enrolled me in an internship class that was directly sponsored by the career center in the school. From there, they gave us access to a plenty of resources that could help us to build a killer resumé and cover letter. In addition, they taught us the techniques and the skills that  we should acquire to pass the interview, from the greeting to thanking the interviewer. In addition, the instructor held with us a mock interview, which was very beneficial for us because we were given feedback. That was a part of the assistance from the University. Let me say my part now. Take a breath and then continue.J

My strategy was getting an “A” grade in my business classes, this way; my professors would easily recommend me to the internship I am looking for. Luckily, I achieved this. Their responses were:

• 1. My finance teacher “ Well, yes why not, we would love to have you in our company, however, we only offer internships in the summer”. 

• 2. My Managerial Accounting teacher who has a CPA firm “ Are you asking me for job, I am kidding, Okay give me your phone number and if we need one I will contact you” Well, I never got a reply back. 

Let’s see how I did get the internship!!

By the end of December 2011, my advisor introduced me to the controller at Lancaster Development via email. Now, my first move came, I called the company asking them to arrange an interview for me; I got it for 1:00 PM.  Automatically, I went to the company website for any helpful information. Also, I contacted a previous intern from Yemen asking her for information.

At the day of the interview, it felt like  the Day of Judgment; it is the time of implementation.   I suited up with some lovely perfume and a fancy watch. I took the bus and I arrived at the company 15 minutes before the interview. I passed the interview successfully by all means.  Mission accomplished! I got an unpaid internship as per the NESA program policies.

The best is yet to come. At the departure orientation in Missouri, 30th April 2012, three certificates were  awarded to the most successful NESA interns by the US Department of State. And yes, I got the “Inspiring Intern” award!

            But wait a minute, what about my CV??!!  Even though it was ready and all neat-looking, I forget both to bring it to the interview and to send it by email! 

I am looking forward to your comments and thoughts.