How to Master Internship Recruitment in a Virtual World

Hi! My name is Grace and I’m an incoming Product Manager at Salesforce, and previously, I’ve held roles as a Business Analyst Co-Op* at Bluewolf an IBM Company, Product Manager Intern at Salesforce, and Product Manager Co-Op* at GE Lighting. I’m also currently wrapping up my last semester at Northeastern University as a Business Marketing major. Beneath the surface of my resume, I am a proud first-generation Chinese immigrant, first-generation college student, and first in my immediate family to work in corporate America.

When I started college, I knew nothing about internships but along the way, I learned from classmates, professors, mentors, and colleagues about how to best approach the recruitment process. Now, I’m on a mission to uplift other college students, especially those who are underresourced and underrepresented to also get internships/co-ops. Read on to learn how YOU can score your dream internship! 🌟

*Co-ops are 4–6 month full-time internships, common at my school, Northeastern University in Boston, MA. Learn more about co-ops here.

~ Firstly, Why Do an Internship? ~

• Build skills, projects, experiences, network to set up for new grad job search. Your resume gets a boost from having more internships but more importantly, you pick up critical soft and hard skills via hands-on work experience. Northeastern University calls this “experiential learning.”
• Find out what industries, companies, roles, cultures you enjoy & do not enjoy. This helps narrow down your career options so that when you are searching for a post-grad job, you won’t feel as much stress when your family says “So what are you doing after you graduate?”
• Make new friends with fellow interns, have a fun time together! I absolutely loved my in-person and virtual experiences with my
• Become more confident in yourself and become more self-aware. I have become so much more confident in myself
• Get paid! If you are a college student with financial aid/loans, on a scholarship, need a financial cushion due to your personal situation, or want to save up money for any other reason, internships can be a source of income while you are in college.