Rising ChemE Junior—Can’t land internships, need advice

[u/Unable-Disaster7197]

Hey y’all, I’m a ChemE major going into my junior year and haven’t been able to land an internship the past two summers. I know I don’t have a ton of experience yet, but I’ve applied to a bunch of places and either get ghosted or rejected. I’ve also had a couple of interviews but never got chosen.

Could someone take a look at my resumee or give tips on what I could do better? Also, any recs and a list of companies that are open to students with limited experience would help a lot.

I really want to make next summer count. Appreciate any advice!

[u/Autisum]

Your resume looks standard for someone of your year. I would go over the grammar in your resume. Misuse of commas and past tense for present experience. 

If you’ve gotten interviews, then perhaps it’s your interview skills you need to work on. 

[u/Unable-Disaster7197 → u/Autisum]

Thanks for the reply! Yeah I was thinking that as well. What would you recommend watching or doing to help with that?

[u/Careless_Yak_6542 → u/[deleted]]

100% agree with this, always need to talk about things that have happened. Or situations you found yourself in and how you came to resolutions. Not just some google answer response to typical interview questions.

I struggled a lot with these type of questions in college prior to having any technical work experience. Sometimes it is hard to find a relatable situation. I ended up always reference group projects. My university had a program that required a group design project in every core chemE class. So, I had a lot of situations of revolving conflict or work prioritization in them. It does not always have to be specifically job related. Make connections to projects, prior work situations, or team situations you have gone through in college.

Also note, talk about real weakness if they ask about your weaknesses. Then how you work to improve on them. Not a "weakness" that is really a benefit, like "I am a perfectionist". I always want to hear real weaknesses and how someone approaches correcting or improving it. It shows true self reflection and I appreciate that in a hire.

[u/Unable-Disaster7197 → u/Unable-Disaster7197]

I’m naturally pretty outgoing and outspoken as well

[u/Autisum → u/Unable-Disaster7197]

One thing that helped me a lot was simply recording myself go over interview questions. Watch how I move, speak, where my eyes go, where I stutter. STAR method. 

[u/Soggy-Ad-3981 → u/Autisum]

you got autism? yeah i guess that helps

these things are kinda rat racy at times too, theres a college of unemployed student engineers and they need 4 interns