It can be TOUGH to find high school internships in the DC area (or anywhere else for that matter), so it’s no surprise that our Summer 2021 Internship Database has become so popular! We curate a list like this each year and offer access to the greater community as well as our own clients.
That being said, I didn’t know quite how popular it was with the general public until I sat down for lunch a month or so ago with Brittany Kirk, the founder and executive director of the non-profit organization Sunlight Retreats and the for-profit social enterprise Sunlight U. As one of our community partners, Brittany graciously allowed us to include an internship opportunity at her organization as part of our database, and I knew that several of our students pursued this position!
Brittany Catton Kirk - Social Entrepreneur Extraordinaire!
What I did NOT know before chatting with Brittany that day was that a ton of other blog readers with no DC College Counseling affiliation also pursued the internship listing after reading about it on our site. So many, in fact, that we actually had to remove the posting because Sunlight was getting absolutely flooded with applications! I was thrilled to learn that so many students in the greater community are finding our database useful, and decided to share some tips from Brittany that I thought might be helpful for students applying to internships on their own without our assistance.
Project a Professional Image
There are definitely some generational differences that don’t have a clear “right answer,” like the side part and skinny jeans debate of late. Even though I personally feel that middle parts and boyfriend jeans are never a good choice for anyone, I can admit that there’s no real long-term harm in dressing like you stepped out of a Friends episode from 1995.
That said, there are certain societal norms that do NOT change with each generation. For example, it is never, ever acceptable for anyone, of any age, to use emojis in a cover letter. God, no. Along the same lines, remember that you are applying for a professional role, not emailing your best friend. Don’t sign the email with “Love, ___” under any circumstances whatsoever! Swap that out for “Best regards” or “Sincerely.” I was quite alarmed that some of the Sunlight internship applicants actually made both of these mistakes!
Remember Who’s in Charge
Yes, you may have lots of great options on the pipeline for the summer, but there’s a fine line between self-advocacy and self-centeredness. A cover letter or job/internship application is NOT the time to play hard to get. Instead, it’s the time for you to sell yourself to the person doing the hiring. Brittany advised the following:
Come up with a genuine explanation for why you are interested in the role and carefully express that. Yes, you want to bulk up your college apps too, and you also need experience, but those are not the kinds of details you share with a potential employer!
Since you’re the one asking the employer to hire you, you need to sell yourself. Include something about the value add that you would bring to the organization. Why YOU over the other 100 high school kids who applied?
Do not ask the person to do something for you, i.e. respond to your email with detailed information about a certain aspect of the internship. While this may be a question that a student could ask with the best of intentions, it takes a lot of time to respond to emails like that and creates more work for the employer. Save it for the interview, if you get that far!
Follow Directions
I was shocked to learn that many students seemed to have difficulty following basic directions... and then I thought about it more and recognized that the idea of teenagers not paying attention to directions is not really all that surprising after all, is it? :)
Trust me on this, employers do not want to hire someone who doesn’t follow directions. Many of them actually require applicants to take extra steps or do seemingly strange things just to see if the person is ABLE to do so! Personally, I ask job applicants to use a very specific, slightly complex subject line just to see if they can get it right. If they can’t, no matter how much I like them otherwise, I do not move forward in the hiring process.
Brittany noted that her posting asked applicants to submit a resume, but some did not. Others received a message asking them to fill out a form with follow-up information, but they never did! She suggested, “Make it very simple for the person to review what you sent and get back to you.”
Last words of wisdom
We know that some of this is not intuitive, and I truly hope that it ends up to be helpful for those of you who are reading the listings and applying on your own. And for those who decide they WOULD benefit from some extra help, we’ve got you covered!
DC COLLEGE COUNSELING CLIENTS CAN SCHEDULE:
Virtual interview preparation sessions here
Virtual resume, cover letter, and internship application assistance here
NON-CLIENTS CAN SCHEDULE:
Good luck! Our entire team is rooting for your success :)