The Internship Resource Guide
Internships and interviews can seem extremely intimidating, especially when it’s hard to figure out where to start. This guide will go over resources that UIUC provides to help with this, as well as a list of companies that hire interns, irrespective of visa status.
UIUC has many internship and career-oriented resources and services available to students. Here are a few important ones:
The Career Center: https://www.careercenter.illinois.edu
Engineering Career Services: https://ecs.grainger.illinois.edu
- Grainger provides individual appointments, walk-in advising, office hours, career workshops, and career labs for students
WCS Career Services: http://wcs.illinois.edu/resources/wcscareer.html
- Practice interview skills and get your resume reviewed by an officer at Open Office!
- Officer Appointment Form
General Job Postings:
- Handshake @ Illinois: https://illinois.joinhandshake.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/
- Github: https://github.com/pittcsc/Summer2023-Internships
- Pay attention to UIUC’s corporate email: corporate@lists.cs.illinois.edu
First or Second Year & International Students
We have compiled a list of internship opportunities open to all students irrespective of their visa status:
Coding it Forward:
Coding it Forward is a non-profit organization that aims to create new pathways into public interest technology. Coding it Forward’s Fellowship is a paid, 10-week summer opportunity for early-career technologists. Fellows work across cybersecurity, data, design, product, and software to build a more equitable and effective government for all.
Apply by Oct 29, 2023!
Application Link:
Google STEP Internship: — Closed for October 2023
Student Training in Engineering Program (STEP) is a 12-week internship for first and second-year undergraduate students with a passion for computer science
- opportunity to work with and under the guidance of the highly skilled software development cohort at Google to complete a project
Cyborg Mobile — New Technologists:
- A 7-week program where applicants learn all about the product lifecycle and create a prototype solution for the modern customer from scratch
- real-world experience in web development and hands-on training from senior staff at Microsoft
Uber Stars Program: — Not open yet as of October 2023
- hiring teams for Software Engineering, Design, Data Science, and other fields
- global programs available
CrowdStrike University Program:
Amazon Future Engineer:
NVIDIA:
IBM:
Intel:
Hubspot:
Microsoft
Explore Program:
https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/exploremicrosoft
- 12-week summer internship program for software engineering and development specifically designed for first and second-year college students
- basic requirements: students must have completed an Introduction to Computer Science course (or equivalent class) as well as one semester of calculus (or equivalent) by the start of the program
Meta University Program:
https://www.metacareers.com/careerprograms/pathways/metauniversity
ten-week paid internship program that enables students from underrepresented communities to get to know Meta’s people, products, and services
- submit resume and both their high school and college transcripts.
- Meta Engineering students are also be asked to complete a 70-minute coding challenge
For more job opportunities, Handshake has filters for freshman, sophomore, and international students. The Research Park also provides a customized section for open jobs.
Steps & Tips to an Internship
Step 1: Prepare your Resume
- Tailor your resume to the job you are applying for by including relevant skills, experience, and achievements.
- Resources:
Tip: Visit the Engineering Career Services (ECS) for a profile review. ECS provides aid with LinkedIn profile setup, resume reviews, and cover letter reviews.
Tip: Use different resumes for different jobs by looking at the specific job description and requirements
Step 2: Job Application
Tip: Apply as early as possible and as many as possible. Apply even if you don’t satisfy all the qualifications that have been specified!
Online Application
- Search jobs on the job board such as LinkedIn and Handshake, or go to a company’s website and find opportunities at the career section.
- Tool that can help fill out application forms quickly:
Career Fair — such as UIUC’s Career Fair & GHC
- Prepare an elevator pitch: elevator pitch is a 30-second-long introduction about oneself that helps the company to understand more about one’s candidacy and one’s experience with the posts that are open. Elevator pitches are a way of “selling oneself” to the company.
- Engineering Career Services’ Career fair tips on preparing elevator pitches: Career Fair Tips | Engineering Career Services | UIUC (illinois.edu)
- Research on top 10 target companies
- Prepare to explain the details of your resume, general questions such as why company & why position, and your questions to the company
- Connect with the recruiter after chatting via email, LinkedIn or Handshake
Networking
- LinkedIn: Reach out to people in your network who you think could help you and ask if they would be willing to provide a referral. Make sure to explain why you’re seeking a referral and what kind of role you’re looking for.
- Campus events: Different RSOs on campus organize different events throughout the year which is a good way of connecting with recruiters. RSOs such as ACM and WCS regularly hold casual alumni events where students can network in a low-stress setting.
- WCS hosts several corporate networking events throughout the year!
Step 3: Online Assessment
Mostly Leetcode-like problems, some behavior assessment. Some companies review your resume after you completed the Online Assessment (OA). So be prepared for the OA but also do it as early as possible.
Step 4: Interview
- Self-introduction and be familiar with your resume: you should be well-equipped with what experiences will be relevant to the post that you are applying to. You want your introduction to be concise, open-ended (which can lead to a conversation), and casual.
- Code Interview: List of the top 75 leetcode questions that are frequently asked by companies in their coding/technical interviews.
Leetcode, HackerRank, CodeChef, and CodeSignal are other platforms that can be used to hone coding skills.
To prepare for an interview:
- Know about the company
- Prepare for “Why company & why position”
- Behavior questions
Mock Interview Resources:
https://www.careercenter.illinois.edu/service/mock-interviews-career-coach
Tip: Be passionate about the company, coding, and the internship program. Be confident about yourself!
Step 5: Get the offer and make the decision
Applying to several companies, appearing for interviews, and waiting for decisions are super hard. And it is harder to choose one company over the other once we get offers from many of them. We know it gets overwhelming to make a decision about which offer to accept and which ones to reject and it often requires considering a lot of factors. But hey! You did it! Pick the company you think is the best fit for you, even if it means turning down amazing offers!
