Creating Your Own Internship

Pinpoint products/services of interest to you  

• Decide types of people or populations you want to serve or work with  

• Use events/trends of interest to point you toward fields/industries/organizations (look at Handshake to RSVP for Career Events and Employers Visits, both virtual and in-person) 

Locate geographic areas you want to try out while interning  

• Identify cities/regions where you find plenty of possibilities related to your ideal internship/employer  

• Consider cost of living in certain locales (summer apartment rents in some cities, living with relatives, etc.)  

• Align with industries/organizations whose missions/values/cultures match what you want  

Locate Contacts at Targeted Organizations  

• Use Heels Engage to connect with alumni from UNC Chapel Hill.   
  • You can narrow by industry, city, and interest 
  • You can join affinity groups and network with people in the industry 
  • RSVP to virtual events 
  • Sign-Up for Professional Development Events and learn new skillsets 

• Use the UNC Chapel Hill Alumni Page on LinkedIn to connect with people in your field 
  • Find companies that correlate with your major, concentration, minor or field of study 
  • Look at the industries that hire people in your field 
  • Look at technical skills, soft skills and certificates that people in your field have 
  • Look for alumni with the title “University Recruiter,” “Campus Recruiter,” or “Early Talent Acquisitions.”  These are individuals who are looking for candidates just like you 

• View current internship postings in Handshake and other Internship resources.  
  • Reading current or past openings can help you identify inside contacts to help you get to the “right” person.  
  • You can also search for Employers in Handshake to find contacts at organizations that don’t necessarily have a posted position.  

Description/Tasks: Using employer buzzwords or phrases from job descriptions to specifically describe high priority responsibilities, skills needing development, and special projects desired. For ideas view internship descriptions posted in Handshake.     

Desired Outcomes: What do you want to get out of the internship in the short run? How does it fit into your long term goals?  

Relevant Qualifications: What specific skills and background have you acquired through work experience, study abroad, courses, activities, volunteer work? Which of these items would you like to use or transfer into your internship?  

Compensation: Paid (salary, commission, stipend) or unpaid; perks in addition to or in place of salary: parking, mileage, housing allowance, training, products/services offered by the organization.  Resources for determining compensation can include: 

1. Glassdoor 

2. U.S. New & World Report 

3. O*Net OnLine

Availability: When can you start/end? Full vs. part-time. Summer and/or during semester? Virtual vs. on-site.  

1. Now it’s time to contact an alum or other key contacts at the targeted organization. We recommend contacting 3 – 5 individuals within the organization. 
2. Email contacts and ask if there is a time period that works best for meeting to talk about proposal.  You may also call the person but understand that the person may be in a meeting during the time you call.  Leave a voice mail talking about your educational background, why you are contacting them and talking about your desire to provide services for the company.   
3. Conduct investigative research prior to connecting with employers.  Popular websites that can be used to look up information include:
   • Vault
   • Handshake
   • Glassdoor
   • LinkedIn
   • U.S. News & World Report
4. When connecting with an employer, talk about your strengths and talk about the value you bring to the table as a candidate.   
   • Remember the 3 C’s (Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking).   
   • Talk about your ability to take initiative and how you are a solution’s focused individual (employers often talk about one of the most important qualities they are looking for in a new candidate “Ability to Take Initiative”)   
   • Talk about your innovative thinking skills and how you are goal focused.  Always talk about how this would be a benefit to the organization.   
5. Develop a Proposal to Fill Needs. Revise your “Ideal Internship” description based on your research.  
   • Keep in mind that you will have to make compromises around the employer’s needs based on the data you gathered.  
6. Follow-up and, If Necessary, Renegotiate  
   • Thank the employer for considering your proposal.  
   • Be ready to compromise to satisfy the needs of the internship site.  
7. Be sure to keep in touch with the contact even if nothing happens immediately.