Internships help bridge the gap from being a student to landing a full-time job after you graduate. You gain practical experience to supplement your education and help you figure out what kinds of work you might like to do. And increasingly, employers are looking to their internship pools when hiring their entry-level candidates. Don't be counted out before you've even begun - get at least one internship under your belt to be a competitive candidate!

If you've done some exploring already, you'll have ideas about industries and occupations you want to try out. Search for opportunities in Handshake.

• Check out our online resources page, LinkedIn, Tiger Link and consortiums to find internship opportunities.
• Use your network and reach out to people to make connections. You can talk to friends, family, faculty, and alumni to start. It helps to have a "pitch" you can present that's specific about what you're looking for to help your contacts better understand how they can help.
• Make a list of organizations that interest you. Do some research online - do they have established internship programs or openings? What are the deadlines? Do any CC alumni work there that you could contact? If they do not have any current internship postings, are you willing to reach out and ask? Start a spreadsheet to keep track of your research, applications, and deadline.

You can gain academic credit for completing an internship. Want to learn more? Check out the GS199: Internship Adjunct. Upon successful completion of an internship, you can earn ¼ credit.

Finding that some of your internship prospects are unpaid? The Career Center has a Summer Internship Funding Awards program allowing every CC student to earn one award for an unpaid or underpaid internship during their four undergraduate years.