Career Corner 1/11/2014: 5 Reasons Why You Didn't Get That Internship
My organization The Prospect is now running its third cycle of our internship program, and having now reviewed over 170+ applications in the past 8 months, we have a ton of high schoolers who email us after decisions come out asking why they didn't get the internship.
There are many reasons why an internship applicant can get rejected (and every company has its own reasons), but here are some of the major problems that explain why you maybe didn't get the position.
1. Typos.
2. Emoticons.
I'm personally not a huge fan of emoticons anyway, but I get a weird vibe when interns include an extreme amount of smileys in their internship application emails. Saying ":) I look forward to getting your decision! :)))))))" will not make you anymore likely to get the position; in fact, it can make you look immature.
Overall, the words in your email should illustrate friendliness and excitement on their own; you shouldn't need emoticons to convey that, especially to someone who's evaluating you.
3. Not completely following all directions.
At The Prospect, we have VERY STRICT instructions for how internship applicants should send their materials, and about 25-35% of all applicants just don't follow these directions. If you were an employer, would you want someone on your team who can't even follow the directions to get the job, let alone do the job?
When applying for any internship, make sure you're following all application requirements (paperwork, essay questions, etc.) PERFECTLY. For example, does the employer want your paperwork to be in PDFs? If you're applying by email, what should the subject line of your correspondence say? Are you just supposed to post things in the body of the email? These are things to think about!
4. Not respecting application deadlines.
This could apply to any internship or job. Part of The Prospect's internship application process requires applicants to answer an essay question (about 200 words or 2 paragraphs) within a short amount of time (usually about one week). Despite this relatively chill deadline, you'd be surprised how many people will turn something in late and say, "Oh sorry it's late…can you consider me for the internship anyway?"
Why would an employer want to give you the time of day if you don't take the application seriously?
Also, if you're late with a deadline, don't try to make excuses. This past semester, some girl sent in her application essay 2 WEEKS LATE and then claimed that she was late because she was "giving significant thought to the essay question." Yeah…righhhhttt...
5. Not explaining why you're qualified or a good fit.
Our application has several parts to it because we want high schoolers without a lot of experience to be encouraged to apply. However. despite having to turn in a resume, brief bio, writing sample and essay, many applicants don't explain why we should want them or why we need them in any of these materials.
For example, students without a lot of experience don't really redeem themselves in the essay, which is basically asking applicants how hard they're willing to work regardless of experience level. An employer won't take your word for it if you say, "I promise I'm hardworking!" You need to SHOW them, preferably in all parts of your apps.
If you can avoid these common internship application mistakes, trust me: You'll be waaayyy closer to the job than you think!
Career Corner 1/10/2014: Sending the Perfect "Asking for Professional Help" Email to an Acquaintance
We've all asked people for help at some point in our lives. Typically that person is a family member, confidant or friend. But what happens if you're looking for help from someone you barely know, specifically in a professional context?
For example, what if you want to be introduced to someone that this acquaintance knows, or want help if this acquaintance has connections to a job opening you want to apply to?
Obviously, it can get a bit awkward (and obnoxious) to email someone just saying, "Yo, homie G, can you hook a sista up? Thx bb."
As The Prospect has grown bigger and I've also been looking at other job opportunities, I've found myself emailing professional acquaintances more often that I used to. I spent a good 20-30 minutes writing a six-sentence email to a work acquaintance just the other day to make sure it came off as curious on not demanding.
So, what do you include in the perfect email to a professional acquaintance? Follow the CLAC acronym!
Teach me how to CLAC
These four steps will give you the most awesome correspondence ever. For the purposes of this exercise, we're going to refer to the work acquaintance we're emailing as "Person X" and say that you're asking he/she about applying for a job at the company he/she works for.
L = Lead In. Obviously, you don't want to start off your email asking for something. It never ends well. Instead, use a hook to reel in Person X. This should be something to the extent of, "I had a quick question for you. I saw that your company, Awesome Business A, has an open for Position Z…"
A = Ask. However, depending on your relationship, you may not want to blatantly ask Person X for something (it might come off as rude, but again, it depends on your prior encounters). Using our example, instead of straight up asking about your chances at getting the job, ask about the specific qualities that a person in this position would need. Or, can Person X offer any tips and tricks to help you during the application process? Any nuances of the company you should know about?
C = Conclude. Don't spend too much time asking for stuff. Instead, leave an open-ended conclusion that encourages Person X to respond to you. A "I would love to hear any insights, and I hope you have a great week!" can suffice. Again, you can spice it up or tone it down depending on your relationship with this person.
Putting Everything Together: An Example of Correspondence with a Work/Professional Acquaintance
So, let's use the CLAC method to write a rad email to an acquaintance!
Hi Person X,
Hope you're having a lovely week! It was great running into you at the Z Professional Networking Event last month. I absolutely loved hearing about the progress you've been making on your book; definitely let me know if I can be of assistance in terms of editing!
I had a quick question and could use your expertise. I saw that Awesome Business A is hiring a new Position Z, and I was just wondering if you had any insight as to qualifications that I should be especially cognizant of? Any nuances I should know about during the application process?
I would love to hear any advice you can give, and I would love to meet sometime for coffee to discuss your book. Thank you so much for your time!
Best,
Rad Email Writer
Huzzah! I now bequeath you a great email writer. Now go write to that acquaintance ASAP!
