I know we are all freaking out about the internship hunt…. You’ve had a few interviews and nothing seems to be working out. You’ve applied to a few places, but haven’t heard a response back yet. I bet you’re feeling a bit hopeless and exhausted, I know I am. So, what happens now?

Keep Up the Search

Until you have a concrete offer, you need to keep searching! Don’t give up the fight until you have that written offer. There are still many positions waiting to be filled, and it is just a matter of time until you hear back from a company.

Staying Organized and On top of it!

In your internship search, you make a lot of new contacts, follow-ups and next action steps at once. All of these interactions can get confusing, and it’s easy to forget a name or forget you even applied to a certain company! Creating and updating a document that keeps track of this information is important towards success and making sure nothing falls through the cracks.

Reminders are Key

You may have spoken to a recruiter or manager at a company a while back about a position. The conversation went great and you had high hopes that an offer was just around the corner, but they still haven’t responded! Make sure to keep emailing them with reminders about your application and prospects. These are busy people, and often times, they have other priorities than internship applicants. Staying in their line of vision through email is important, but make sure to keep it professional. Although, again, it is important to keep seeking other offers if they have not solidified one with you.

Visit CP&R

Don’t forget your resources on campus! Make an appointment with a counselor to seek further guidance if you’re having trouble with the internship search. They can provide you with more ideas on where to look next and how to take the next steps to solidify those offers. Doing practice interviews there or working with a career consultant on strong applications is also helpful towards getting that summer internship position.

Use your Network

Through the connections you’ve made, professional and personal, make sure you are leveraging these connections as well. These people may include your friends and family, former employers or even professors. All of these people have connections (use LinkedIn search to check it out) that you may not be aware of that can be useful in your job hunt. Ask for an introduction over LinkedIn or email to get the job hunt started.

Internships Search Engines

Don’t forget to use all of your online resources. These include internships.com, Vault, The Muse, Glassdoor, LinkedIn and Handshake of course! There are so many key listings on all of these sites that can push you in the right direction and let you know what is still available. When using these sites, check out the company careers page to see if you can go through them directly, rather than through the third party site.

Reach Out to a Mentor

If you’re still stuck, reaching out to a mentor to ask for advice may be a good way to get some new ideas about how to game-plan.

In the end, the best advice is not to give up. It is more than important to continue to apply yourself because eventually, with enough hard work, you will get that offer!