CollegeRecruiter.com Insights by Candidates Blog

Sometimes, remembering your own strengths can be one of the more effective ways to jumpstart an internship search. I suggest that before you even consider delving into the world of random internship searches, you make a list of your credentials and what you consider to be your strong points. Doing this will provide focus and aim to your internship search. In addition, it will also serve you in the long run to know your own credentials. When applying for particular positions, you will have to be honest with yourself about whether or not you meet the internship criteria. So knowing where you stand is always a plus.

Remembering your strong points often goes hand in hand with remembering your passion. The key question is: what do you most enjoy in life? I can provide a personal anecdote to illustrate this key point. A few weeks ago, I was searching for internships over the internet and I came across a position as a student advisor for a startup website called Get-Accepted.com. The mission of Get-Accepted.com, which can be found at http://recruit.get-accepted.com, is to provide affordable college admissions advice to high school students who dream of attending top universities around the country. As a student advisor, my main responsibility would be to create and conduct a free, live web seminar on a particular aspect of the college admissions process.

The position at Get-Accepted.com immediately caught my eye because one of my main passions in life is writing. I also consider writing to be one of my strengths. My thought process went something like this: if I could convey my passion for writing to aspiring high school students, then I would be making some sort of difference in their lives, and fulfilling my own dreams and aspirations in the process. Sure enough, I will be conducting a conference call in late September on how to write an effective college admissions essay.

Reflecting on my own experience, I realized that I hopefully have a lot to share on the topic of writing a college admissions essay. Writing my essay was my favorite part of the college admissions process by far, and I have fond memories of crafting that piece of writing.

When it comes down to it, it doesn't matter what your strengths and passions are, it simply matters that you are aware of them. Remembering what you are good at is a simple way to refine and refocus your quest for a meaningful internship. So, as a simple exercise, look back on your own life and make a list of what you have accomplished and what you enjoyed doing along the way. From my own experience, recognizing my passion was the key to finding a meaningful internship that works for me.