Here’s What You Should Know About How Hard Is It To Get An Internship Right Now
So, you're thinking about getting an internship. Maybe you're a student. Maybe you're just ready for a change. Whatever the reason, you've probably heard the whispers. The hushed tones about the internship hunt. Let's just say, it's not exactly a walk in the park. Or maybe it is, but the park is guarded by dragons and requires you to solve a riddle before you can even get to the ice cream truck.
Here's the thing: getting an internship right now can feel like trying to win the lottery while simultaneously juggling flaming torches. It’s a whole thing. You've polished your resume until it gleams. You’ve practiced your elevator pitch until you can deliver it in your sleep. You’ve even started wearing slightly more "professional" socks.
And then you start looking. You scroll through job boards. You see all these amazing opportunities. Companies you've only dreamed of working for. Roles that sound perfectly tailored to your budding genius. It’s exhilarating! You think, "This is it! My big break!"
Then you click. And you see the requirements. Suddenly, that "entry-level" internship sounds suspiciously like it requires a Nobel Prize and a black belt in interpretive dance. They want experience. They want skills. They want someone who has somehow already achieved what you're trying to learn.
It's like going to a restaurant and the menu has pictures, but the pictures are of Michelin-star dishes, and you're just trying to order a grilled cheese. "Sorry," the waiter says, "We only serve molecular gastronomy here. And you need to have cured your own salmon for at least three weeks."
And the competition? Oh, the competition is fierce. It’s like a Hunger Games of aspiring interns. Everyone is hungry. Everyone is talented. Everyone has a slightly more impressive LinkedIn profile picture. You see applications with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of other hopefuls. You start to wonder if they just randomly select someone from a hat. A very, very large hat.
"It's like trying to find a unicorn that also knows how to code in Python."
Then there are the internships that are unpaid. Bless their hearts. These are the ones that require you to pay your own way, provide your own transportation, and possibly your own coffee, all for the "opportunity" to gain "valuable experience." Valuable experience in what, exactly? Surviving on ramen and ambition?
And let's not forget the networking. The endless advice to "network, network, network!" So, you go to these events. You awkwardly hand out business cards that you printed yourself on slightly flimsy cardstock. You try to make meaningful connections while simultaneously trying not to spill your lukewarm punch. You end up talking about the weather with someone who looks like they’d rather be anywhere else.
It’s enough to make you want to curl up in a ball and binge-watch a season of your favorite show. And that's okay! Seriously. It’s okay to feel a little overwhelmed. A little discouraged. A little like you’re shouting into the void.
But here’s my unpopular opinion: it’s not impossible. It’s just… a lot. It’s a marathon disguised as a sprint, with a few surprise obstacle courses thrown in. You need patience. You need persistence. And you probably need a good sense of humor. Because if you can’t laugh at the absurdity of it all, you might just cry.
Think about it. Every single person who has a job started somewhere. They probably didn't just materialize at their desk with a corner office. They likely went through something similar. They probably sent out more applications than they care to admit. They probably had a few interviews that went spectacularly wrong.
My own personal horror story involves an interview where I was so nervous, I accidentally called the interviewer by the name of my pet goldfish. To this day, I'm not sure if "Bubbles" was impressed. Let's just say, it wasn't a paid internship.
So, what’s the takeaway? Is it hard? Yes. Is it sometimes soul-crushing? Absolutely. But is it worth it? For many people, yes. The key is to adjust your expectations. Be realistic. And don’t let a few rejections turn you into a hermit who only communicates through interpretive dance.
Keep applying. Keep tweaking that resume. Keep practicing that pitch. And when you get that interview, remember to breathe. And maybe try not to name the interviewer after your pet.
And who knows? Maybe that "unicorn that knows how to code in Python" is out there. You just have to keep looking. And maybe bring some glitter. You never know what might attract a unicorn.