A summer internship may be a requirement for your major, or it could just be a great way for you to gain experience and contacts in your industry to improve your prospects after you graduate. Since it’s common to face high competition for the best internships, you need to take steps to make your application stand out. Here are a few to consider.

1. Read and Reread Your Resume

To land a great internship, your resume needs to be flawless. After proofreading it yourself, ask someone else to check it. You may also find it useful to read it out loud. You’ll need to do this every time you apply for an internship, as it’s likely that you’ll tweak parts of your resume to include the most relevant information for the position — and it’s easy to unintentionally add grammatical errors when you’re changing phrases slightly.

2. Talk About Your Experience without Stretching the Truth

Consider all the ways you’ve gained valuable experience that could make you a top candidate for the internship. This could include your participation in clubs, electives you’ve taken, high grades you’ve achieved in relevant classes, and work or volunteer experience. Whereas you’ll want to sound as qualified as possible, you should be honest about what you’ve achieved. Never use jargon to make your skills sound more impressive than they are or take credit for someone else’s work. If an employer finds out that you’re not being completely truthful, you’ll lose your chance of gaining the internship.

3. Aim to Apply Before the Deadline

Leaving applications until the last minute is a big risk. Even if you don’t end up missing the deadline for an internship, there’s a high chance that your application won’t be as strong as it could have been. For instance, you may overlook one of the requirements or your writing may be less polished than you would have liked.

4. Prepare for the Interview

The career centre at your university should be able to give you support in preparing for your interview. For example, you may be able to practise questions that are likely to come up. Other ways to prepare include researching the company beforehand and deciding what to wear according to the dress code at the workplace.

5. Ask About the Possibility of Permanent Employment

During the interview, make sure you ask if internships can lead to permanent positions. This will show that you’re interested in more than just fulfilling the requirements of your major or enhancing your resume. Plus, it could even give the company the chance to think about creating a position for you once your internship is over — as long as they’re satisfied with your work, of course.

You’ll also need somewhere to live over the summer while you’re working at your internship. Since living on campus is unlikely to be possible, the best option is to find student apartments. Ottawa has THEO: all-inclusive student living with all the amenities and services you could want. When you return home in the evenings, you’ll be able to hang out with other students in the common areas or rest on your own in your apartment. Book an onsite visit to meet THEO.