You may be thinking about how to find an out of state internship. Internships are important for development in a holistic way as a student.
There are always both pros and cons of choosing to intern out of state, but it’s important to seek new opportunities that you think will benefit you in the long run.
Choosing an out of state internship can be a lot more time consuming and labor intensive than finding a local internship site. However, you have lots to gain from choosing to intern in an out of state setting.
It should be stated that a lot of work may have to be put in from you to find organizations that you would be interested in interning in.
Note that this strategy for finding out of state internships can also be used to find internships in other cities.
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How to Get Started Looking for Out of State Internship
The first thing you need to think about when looking for out of state internships is what type of internship do you want.
Ask yourself: “What experiences, skills, knowledge and networks will be most beneficial to your short and long term goals?”
I suggest you think about these deeply before you start looking for potential internship sites. The last thing you want to do is to get an internship that is out of state but doesn’t relate to your interest or help you develop the skills you need.
Your next step would be to go and see your internship coordinator at your graduate school. They will have invaluable information on what out of state internships people in your program have done before.
This will give you a great initial idea of what are good opportunities and areas you can extend your search to.
If you don’t want to go to your internship coordinator, use google to find potential sites.
Where to Look
If you’re reading this and you are a public health student then I would suggest looking into these locations:
- Washington D.C. (DMV area)
- Georgia
- California
- New York
- Colorado
- Florida
I chosen these places because when I was looking into out of state internships, these states had lots of great opportunities. However, these states might be more competitive so definitely include some other states or cities you are interested in.
By no means does this mean that you should restrict your search to these states or even look into any of these states. But if you do look into it, it could give you a good idea of what types of internship sites you would want to look into in other areas.
Remember that though an organization is not advertising an internship position that doesn’t mean that they won’t take an intern in.
I will talk more about this in the ‘How to Reach Out’ Section. But know that you will have to be proactive to successfully secure an internship.
Resources to Help You Look
There are two ways to go searching for internship sites: through resources or through personal research.
The four resources I suggest are:
- Internship Coordinator/Alumni
- Google Job Alerts
- Career Services
If you know me, you know I highly recommend using LinkedIn as one of your primary ways to network and look for both internship and job opportunities.
Therefore, it goes without saying that LinkedIn should be a primary resource for looking for out of state internships.
LinkedIn can be used in three ways to find out of state internships:
- Finding an open internship positions
- Searching for organizations you’d be interested in
- Networking and finding leaders at organizations you’d be interested in
By using LinkedIn you will be leveraging both the job search and social media parts of the website.
LinkedIn Job alerts should be used to effectively find new internship positions. Go to the ‘What To Search For’ section for more ideas of what to search.
(Related: How to Set Up an Effective LinkedIn Profile)
Internship Coordinator/Alumni
The internship coordinator is another go-to resource to find out of state internships.
The greatest thing about the internship coordinator (unless they are new) is that they will have knowledge of all the various out of state internship opportunities that previous students did.
Additionally, they will be able to brainstorm different organizations and potential internships you can do. Don’t underestimate how beneficial having a conversation with your internship coordinator can be to get your search started.
Alumni can also help in the same way that an internship coordinator can. However, they may be a little harder to reach but will good ideas for internship sites.
It’s a good idea to reach out to alumni to learn more about their experiences in internships and to see if they can brainstorm some ideas of places to reach out to.
Google Job Alerts
Using Google job alerts is advantageous method to look for out of state internships.
This is because Google is able to collect new internships from all over the internet and send them directly to your email inbox.
Not only will Google job alerts be searching LinkedIn internship post, but also from 100s if not 1000s of other websites.
Setting google job alerts months ahead of time could help you understand which places tend to have more internship opportunities. And then you can narrow in your search to specific places to look for potential organizations.
Career Services
Your university’s Career Services is similar to your Internship Coordinator, but they may have a broader range of potential internships.
If you are in the public health field then broad internships in non-traditional organizations or settings can help you set yourself apart.
Remember that everyone these days has to get an internship in graduate school so the better your internship experience then typically the better your future opportunities.
What To Search For
When doing internship searching it is a great idea to turn on lots of various alerts so that you are immediately notified of new opportunities.
If using LinkedIn or Google Job Alerts, turning on alerts will be a huge time saver that proves to bring lots of value to you.
If you do not have a specific interest in your internship, then I suggest you put on alerts for terms like:
- “Public Health Internship” in Specific State
- “Public Health Internship” in Specific Cities in a State
- “Evaluation Internship” in Specific City/State
I think it is most beneficial to have both Statewide and City-level internship alerts on.
This way you can get a better idea of what cities have promising internships from the Statewide search and then modify your city-level search from this information.
Additionally, having both broad search terms and more specific to your interest will help you find the most diverse opportunities. And then from there you can decide which ones you will want to pursue.
How to Reach Out
This section is for looking at internship sites that don’t actively have open internships.
Searching
When you are looking for different persons to reach out to think about it these two ways:
- Find a person at an organization you are interested in
- Find an organization that you are interested in then find a person to reach out to
Finding & Cold Emails
If you aren’t using LinkedIn to reach out to persons then cold emailing is going to be your best bet.
For a complete guide on cold emailing, check out these sites: this guide and this site.
LinkedIn allows you to do searches for individuals by specific filters and criteria. So I suggest you start exploring this to find new leads.
Some good ideas for searches are by: Location, Industry, School.
Never underestimate the power of connecting with Alumni as they are more likely to help you than random cold emails.
Cold Emails consist of:
- Get a list of Leads
- Find the company’s email format
- Create a great email
- Follow up if you don’t hear back within a specified amount of time
- Attach a resume if necessary
1. Getting a list of leads has to do with what industry you are interested in and locations that have organizations related to your interest. It is always better to keep your initial cold email leads list very broad.
2. Finding the companies email format (if not using LinkedIn) can be done using the google chrome plugin, Hunter, or using an email verification tool like this.
3. Creating a great email is essential. Firstly, you need to ensure that you have a professional enough email address. If not, go create one now! Choosing the right subject line will also be important to get a response. Ensure that you are offering value in your subject line and asking if you all could discuss it on a 15minute phone call or in follow up emails.
Also ensure that you are succinct in your emails and right to the point. If you want to talk about something, make it specific. If you want to ask for an internship then do it strategically.
4. Following up is going to be extremely important since you are going to be reaching out to busy people. Make sure to follow up using the same email thread started and always be kind (i.e. “I know you don’t have much time, but if I could have 10 minutes of your time to talk about X”).
5. You are more likely to get an email back from someone if you send them your resume and have a specific call to action. Whether that be the 10 minute phone call, connecting you with potential employees with intern needs, asking for expert advise or networking help. If you do send your resume, then you want to ensure that it is professional.
What To Look For In an Internship Site
You will want to ensure that you choose the right internship site so that you have the most to gain from your internship experience.
Some things to take into consideration when looking for an internship site:
- Am I going to be doing meaningful work and gaining useful knowledge, skills, experience and connections?
- Do I want to work with a team or independently?
- Will I be able to work on that project that I think is so cool that the organization is working on?
- What sort of time commitment and workload are you expecting to take on?
- Is having this organization on my resume going to mildly or extremely beneficial?
Finding one internship site that hits all of your needs is difficult. But when looking for an internship site, you should ensure that you will be gaining valuable experience that will take you career to the next level.
Benefits of Getting An Out of State Internship
There are many benefits of having an out of state internship that can help you to better your professional career.
Anecdotally, in my MPH program I heard that most persons that did out of state (or city) internships were more likely to be hired after the program. There is definitely some truth in this.
Apart from the potential to get a job after graduation, out of state internships can help by:
- You learning to work in new environments
- Meeting (networking possibility) 100% new people
- Broaden world perspective and step out of your comfort zone
- Get to experience a new area (foods, entertainment, unique attractions, etc.)
The benefits from out of state internships can truly outweigh the stress of trying to find and secure one. Interning in a new location will have far reaching benefits for you both professionally and personally.
Conclusion
In concluding, choosing to pursue an out of state internship can be a great way for you to gain valuable experience in a new setting.
The process for getting an out of state internship is more time consuming and labour intensive that looking for an internship near by. However, if you are diligent when choosing a site, then you can leverage this experience to create more opportunities through meeting and networking with new individuals.
Ensure that you use your time and resources wisely to find the right internship site that fits with your career aspiration.
Think about what experience, knowledge, skills, connections and growth you will gain from the internship. And if these will help you in your career plan.
How are you looking for potential out of state internships?
