It’s January, and so career service offices are focused on internships

The second you get back to campus in January, the clock starts ticking. While the fall is usually for seniors looking for full-time jobs, the spring is the prime season for summer internships. This is when mid-sized companies and local firms finally get their budgets approved and start looking for students.

Your college career services office knows this. Starting in the first week of the new year, they shift from general advice to high-speed execution. They are there to help you, but you have to know how to work the system to get the best results.

How Career Services Ramps Up in the Spring

When the spring semester begins, the career office changes its entire strategy. They know that most internship deadlines hit between late January and early March, so they move into a “campaign mode.”

High Speed Resume Reviews In the fall, you might have had to wait a week for an appointment. In January, many offices open up “drop-in” hours. This is where you can walk in without an appointment and get ten minutes of feedback on your resume or a cover letter. They do this to handle the massive volume of students who suddenly realize summer is right around the corner.

Targeted Employer Events Instead of general “how to find a job” talks, January is full of specific events. You will see “speed networking” sessions, industry-specific panels, and prep nights for the spring career fair. The staff spends their winter break calling employers to convince them to post jobs specifically for your school.

Providing the Right Tools Career advisors also curate the best places for you to look outside of the campus portal. One of the top sources they often recommend is College Recruiter. It is a massive resource because it focuses specifically on students and recent grads. It usually has tens of thousands of internship postings across dozens of countries. If you feel like your local campus board is too small, a site like College Recruiter gives you the global reach you need to find more options.

How You Should Leverage the Office

The career office is a tool, not a magic wand. To get the most out of it, you need to be proactive. Here is how you should handle your search starting right now.

Don’t Go in Empty Handed When you go to see an advisor in January, don’t ask them what you should do with your life. That is a conversation for October. In January, show up with a draft of your resume and a list of five companies you like. When you show that you have done the legwork, the advisor will work harder for you. They might even pull a “hidden” job lead out of their desk that hasn’t been posted yet.

Use the Alumni Connection Ask your career office for a list of alumni who have offered to mentor students. January is the best time to send a polite email asking for a twenty-minute phone call. Many internships are filled through referrals before the job is even posted online. The career office is your gatekeeper to that network.

Apply in Volume Searching for an internship is a numbers game. Use the office to polish your “core” resume, and then use sites like College Recruiter to find as many relevant roles as possible. Don’t just apply to two or three spots. Aim for twenty or thirty. Having more options gives you more leverage when it comes time to interview.

Treat Every Workshop Like an Interview When the career office hosts a guest speaker or a prep session, show up and stay late. Introduce yourself to the staff. If they know your face and your goals, they are much more likely to recommend you when an employer calls them asking for a “standout student” for a last-minute opening.

The Bottom Line

The next eight weeks are the most important weeks of your year for your career. Your career services office is currently at its highest level of activity. If you engage with them now, use their networking tools, and stay consistent with your applications on platforms like College Recruiter, you will have your summer plans locked in before spring break even starts.