To nail your dream internship, it doesn’t hurt to hobnob

Editor’s Note: April Forristall will graduate from the University of Maine May 13 and is writing a series of columns, appearing Wednesdays, about her and her classmates’ job-hunting experiences.

I need to start adding to my pre-graduation to-do list because steps one and two have solid lines through them.

Getting an internship and getting published are no longer concerns.

I remember once talking to a girl who had gotten her summer internship simply because she knew people, or rather, her parents knew people. I remember thinking how incredibly unfair that was and being bothered by it for days.

I take it all back.

It’s called networking, and there’s nothing wrong with it at all.

Back in January, I ran into a girl I know from class who has a column in The Maine Campus. Turns out, she is also an intern at the Bangor Daily News. One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew, she was giving me the contact information for an editor at the BDN.

As it turned out, an intern had quit just four days before. When I got home, I secured an interview for the next day to attempt to become his replacement. A day later I was the newest intern at the BDN.

Without that networking, I wouldn’t have gotten the internship at the BDN. I was ecstatic and could not care less that a major reason I got my ideal internship was because of networking.

A mere 48 hours after getting my internship, I got my first byline. In a real newspaper. I bought four copies and sent them to my sister, my best friend and my parents, and I kept one for myself. I couldn’t stop smiling all day. This sounds too easy.

But to step back a little, the second I hung up the phone with my new boss, after arranging to meet at 1 p.m. the next day, I realized I was maybe a little anxious. She had asked me to bring in a resume, which I didn’t have. Since it was winter break, I assumed the career center would not be open late, so I called my dad for resume help. He suggested I go back to my pre-graduation survival guide, job-hunting book “What Color Is Your Parachute?” because author Richard Bolles has a section on resumes. Of course.

The main thing I took from Mr. Bolles’ advice is that there is no one right format for a resume, or one specific style that wins over the heart of every employer. So my suggestion is to go to your career center.

The career center has many books and brochures of resume-writing tips. They also have binders full of old students’ resumes organized by major.

CollegeGrad.com also has tips for writing both resumes and cover letters. According to the site, the first thing that employers look for in a resume is the focus. You have to commit yourself on paper to what you really want to do in your career. “Without it, you are destined to languish in the sea of mediocrity, swallowed up by your own lack of direction.”

The site also gives two words to never use. The words “entry level” activate red flags and sirens for those who are in charge of screening you out. Don’t use them. Period.

Also it is good to have the same format throughout the resume. Keep the same spacing and font style.

The whole point of a resume is to sell yourself, which means you need to know yourself and what you want to do. Focus.

I once heard a story about an employer who had so many resumes to go through that he tossed them all up in the air and chose the ones that fell first.

They fell first because they were on heavier, stylized paper. Head to Staples or OfficeMax and pick out the best paper for you. What I take from that is it can’t hurt to add a bit of personal flair.