Week one checklist for students starting their search for a summer internship

1. Update Your Core Resume

• Add your GPA and honors from the fall semester.
• Include any new projects, leadership roles, or volunteer work you finished over the break.
• Save it as a PDF titled FirstName_LastName_Resume_2026.pdf.

2. Visit the Career Services Website

• Check the calendar for the “Spring Career Fair” date and put it in your phone.
• Look for “Drop-In” hours for quick resume reviews.
• Sign up for at least one networking event or internship workshop happening this month.

3. Set Up Your Digital Search Engines

• Search and apply to any of the tens of thousands of internships advertised on College Recruiter.
• Set up “Job Alerts” using keywords like “Summer 2026 Internship” and your major on general sites such as Indeed and LinkedIn as well as the platform that your school may use to power its career service office’s job board, such as Handshake or Symplicity.
• Filter for your preferred locations (home, campus, or international) to see what the volume looks like.

4. Finalize Your “Top 10” List

• Identify ten companies you would love to work for, regardless of whether they have a posting up yet.
• Check their corporate “Careers” page directly to see if their summer programs are live.

5. Book One Strategy Appointment

• Schedule a 30-minute meeting with a career advisor.
• Goal: Ask them specifically, “Which employers in my field have recruited from our school in the past three years?”

6. Reach Out to One Alumnus

• Find one person on LinkedIn or through your school’s database who is working in your dream field.
• Send a short, three-sentence message asking for a brief “informational interview” about how they got their start.