On December 12, 2022, I met with Ruthann Coyote for my last Gordon Career Center Advisor meeting of the semester. We discussed a variety of topics that I had outlined prior to our meeting to focus my time over winter break. I shared that I would like to spend a portion of the break searching for and applying to internships or other career opportunities for the summer of 2023. Ms. Coyote began by delineating a process to follow: finding opportunities, placing the opportunities in priority order (based on personal preferences like company, location, etc.), searching up the company on LinkedIn then looking for Wesleyan alumni with any connection to that company, gathering information about the company, speaking with contacts, targeting resume, writing supplements, and applying as early as possible. Ms. Coyote also recommended aiming for applying to ten opportunities, enough of a start to make serious in-roads but not so many that the applications become generic.
In addition, I asked Ms. Coyote for networking tips and any advice for speaking with recruiters or employees at a desired firm. She suggested beginning with the question: what do I want to know? Then, she recommended conducting initial research through social media, websites, friends, and other sources to get a sense of the company and to be able to show demonstrated interest through knowledge. In addition, she recommended keeping yourself apprised of any big news and/or scandals that the company may be experiencing. As for things not to do, she warned against asking about compensation or a specific internship opportunity. After speaking with someone, she also shared helpful ways to maintain these relationships. First, staying in touch via LinkedIn is great. After the meeting, request them on LinkedIn, remembering to add a personal note about your meeting so that there is a record of the meeting and something specific for them to remember you by. In general, Ms. Coyote noted that some prefer to keep track of their professional encounters in a spreadsheet so that they’re reminded to reach out every 2-6 months with updates.
Lastly, Ms. Coyote shared a few pieces of wisdom or suggestions to keep in mind during this process. First and most importantly, she instructed me to go in the direction I think I will be the happiest. Next, she advised me to “touch on things and keep going”. That is, do not get too bogged down in specific opportunities and accept that there are always circumstances out of our control. Lastly, she suggested the exercise of sketching out a dream opportunity, an ideal internship to then compare other opportunities and keep track of the value that is important to you.
