Searching for Jobs and Internships

To ensure your search is as successful and efficient start with clear search criteria. In addition to any specific industries, career paths, or skills, your criteria can include preferred locations, salary and benefits, modality (remote, in-person, hybrid), and other priorities. If you’re not sure how to decide, here are a few questions to consider:

• What kind of role do you want?
• What skills do you want to use most?
• What, if anything, do you want to avoid?
• Do you want to work at a large or small organization?
• Do you want to work for a start-up?
• Do you want to work in a city, the suburbs, a more rural area, or abroad? Do you want to work in a specific location or region?
• Where is salary on your priority list? What about other benefits?
• How important is the opportunity for career growth?
• Are you willing to travel? How much?
• How much of a daily commute can you deal with?
• How important is working remotely?
• Do you have personal timeline to consider? Is there a date you need to start by? Do you need time to move to the area?

Go through the self-discovery process to understand your skills, values, interests, and personality. If you have gone through self-discovery before, reflect on what you learned and/or revisit some of the suggested steps.

This self-knowledge will help you develop search criteria that you feel confident in and select positions that are the best fit. For example, knowing that your skills and interests align well with a particular industry or career path can help you explore options that you may be a strong candidate for.

Your personal brand is, put simply, how you present yourself to others, whether in person, online, or through documents and materials, including:

• Resume, CV, cover letter
• Social media accounts and activity
• Networking profiles and activity: LinkedIn, BU Connects, Handshake
• Blog, website, portfolios, github

This doesn’t mean you can’t have different interests that you are simultaneously pursuing or that your resume and cover letter should look exactly the same for every position you apply to.

The goal is for everything to be up to date and to tell the same general story about you and your interests, qualifications, and experience.

There are two main methods of searching: traditional and proactive. We recommend that you use both methods and customize based on your goals and interests. For example, if you know that you want to find a full-time job where you interned last summer, focus on expanding your network at that organization with more limited attention to the industry overall.

Traditional Search Method

This method refers to applying to open positions that you are able to find because the organization is actively and publicly recruiting to fill that role. The positions are typically posted on Handshake or another job board, but you might also learn about it at an employer event or career fair.

Proactive Search Method

With this method, you actively seek opportunities to apply to that may or may not yet be posted publicly. There are a number of different (but sometimes overlapping) ways to search, and we recommend using more than one.

• Networking: Check in with your networking contacts and develop new ones as you may hear about positions before they are posted (read our guide to networking)
• Targeting Employers: Focus on building connections and finding leads for specific organizations
• Professional Associations: Industry groups often have job boards and are a great source for networking contacts related to your career goal
• Social Media: Follow employers or industry accounts to get leads for possible networking contacts
• BU Connects, LinkedIn: Connect with alumni working in the field, join relevant industry groups to get leads for additional networking contacts
• BU Alumni Network Affinity Groups: Connect with alumni in your area
• Volunteering: If applicable, directly connect with an organization’s activities or an affiliated nonprofit and build networking contacts

How and where you search will depend on what makes the most sense for you and your goals.

Find Positions

Use the traditional and proactive search methods outlined above. Sources or leads for available positions include:

• Handshake
• General job boards such as Idealist, Indeed, SimplyHired, LinkedIn Jobs
• Specialty job boards focused on location, identity, or industry, such as GoinGlobal, Diversity Jobs, MusicJobs.com
• Professional associations’ forums and job boards
• Recruiting events and other opportunities to speak with employers
• Organization websites
• Sourcing from your network, including with BU Connects, LinkedIn, BU affinity groups
• Social media

Apply

For each application, take the time to tailor your resume/CV and cover letter to the position’s details. This will ensure you are presenting yourself as the strongest and most relevant candidate you can be.

Beware of Scams

Employment scams are a real issue, and students are targeted every year. Read our guide on avoiding scams.

Keep Track

We also strongly recommend using CareerShift or another tool like a Google spreadsheet to track the positions you apply to so that you can easily see when to follow up after applying or interviewing.

Follow Up

While you might not always get a response, following up on applications is not a step to skip.

If you have network contacts at an organization where you applied to a position, follow up by email to let them know that you have applied. This is particularly important if you spoke with the person prior to applying about that position or others. Even if they are not involved in filling that position, they might be able to recommend that you be considered and/or interviewed.

If you don’t know anyone at the organization, follow up by email with HR or the hiring manager about 2 weeks after applying. In this case, your message is focused on checking the status of your application and reiterating your interest.

Follow Up: Application

Dear _____________,

I recently applied for ___________ position at __________. I am excited about the opportunity to interview for this role. I am following up regarding the status of my application. I can be reached at 123-456-7899 or yourname@bu.edu. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Your Name

Follow Up: Networking, Informational Interviews

Dear _____________,
It was a pleasure speaking with you recently regarding _____________________. Thank you for your time and interest in sharing your experience and advice [or: industry information, opportunities, recommendations, other contacts] with me. I specifically enjoyed hearing about ____________[mention something specific about your conversation or interaction].

I look forward to staying in touch and will keep you in the loop about my progress.

Sincerely,
Your Name

The timeline for searching can vary widely by industry. In some cases, employers recruit for positions up to 9 months before they want the new hire to start; apply in the fall to start in June for example. In others, that window is much shorter, only 1–2 months, with applications due in April or May for an early summer start. In general, 4–6 months is the most common.

Check Handshake to see when applications are due, even if you’re not yet ready to apply. This will give you a sense for the industry, organizations of interest, and positions of interest.

For each position you apply to, there is a general timeline that the process will follow:

• Apply to position
• Wait for response
• Follow up with contact, hiring manager, or HR
• Wait for response
• If invited, interview for position
• Follow up with hiring manager and other interviewers
• Wait for response and any next steps