Department of Economics
Department of Economics

Internship and Job Search Advice from the Class of 2017 Internship Panels

ECO Career Office

Economics Career Office

Job Search Advice from the Class of 2017 Internship Panels (Academic Year 2016-2017)

Job Search

  • Apply anywhere you are interested in the position. If they [the organization] doesn’t want you, that’s their decision. Don’t make the decision for them. [Customize your resume and cover letter for each submission.]
  • Attend Employer Information Sessions [found in Handshake].
  • [If you are interested in a global experience] Get $ from the Office of Global Internships.
  • Consider alternatives to investment banking and management consulting.
  • Consider economic consulting.
  • Check out an organization before interviewing and continue to assess it as you intern. If it’s not a good fit, that is ok.
  • Don’t just chase prestige. Prestige doesn’t equal a good opportunity that’s right for you.
  • Don’t undersell yourself; you have a lot to offer.
  • Think about business development jobs.
  • Don’t worry about rejection [with job applications, at career fairs, info sessions].
  • Draw on your skill set and build your story about how you built that skillset.
  • Use usajobs.gov and the Pathways program (when they are active).

Interviewing

  • Learn how to sell yourself; work with a career center or a mentor or a friend.
  • Be prepared for interviews but don’t overthink. This can stress you out.
  • In a case interview or interview with a math problem, talk it out, out loud.
  • Take pride in your accomplishments.
  • Practice. In front of the mirror, with others, InterviewStream (through Handshake).
  • Learn the language of the industry/ies you want to enter and learn to think and speak using it.
  • To prepare, create a document with everything you know about the org and people you’ve met – like prepping for an exam.
  • Participate in a mock interview with a career center or through an alum program.

Other Skill Building

  • Determine the skills you will need and seek out opportunities.
  • For data analysis consider the stats minor.
  • Take econometrics, and the associated project, seriously. Get a lot out of it.
  • Classes can be taken outside of U.Va. online for free with MOOCS and Lynda.com while you are U.Va. students. Try uncubed.
  • Consider data analysis as a core skill to build.
  • Supplement your econ course work with real world experience such as externships and internships.

Getting Involved

  • Keep your eye on your GPA, but try things out during the academic year, especially if you don’t know what you want to do.
  • Participate in an internship in Charlottesville or a job on Grounds.
    • Look into UIP, the University Internship Program, for internships during the academic year and in Charlottesville or Ireland.- Yes, that's right, Ireland

Networking

  • Talk to people.
  • Use the ECO network and Alumni and Friends list in Collab.
  • Keep a spreadsheet of organizations and people and where they are in your pipeline.
  • Attend employer info sessions.
  • Once you have an internship or summer experience – talk to people within the organization and in other organizations in the city where you’re living.
  • Talk to your professors; become friendly with them; ask their advice; they want to help you.
  • Personal networking is important; I found one experience because my supervisor [from academic-year job in Cville] gave me a list of all of the big Charlottesville employers that hire interns.
  • Use your UVA alum and student network through Hoosonline, LinkedIn, VAM - Virginia Alumni Mentoring.

General Advice

  • Stretch yourself [in the internship and job search process] and on the job.
  • Consider the UVA MBI (McIntire Business Institute) online program, but only if you will make the most of it.
  • Build up a folder [or some kind of tool] for holding the jobs you are interested in or apply for.
  • Set up goals and priorities at the beginning of the semester.
  • Become self-reliant.
  • Build your story. [Goes along with selling yourself.]
  • Do weird things. [That is – things that may be unusual. One panelist was involved in Woofing, one panelist traveled to Australia.]
  • Invest in yourself and get to know yourself. You’ll be able to talk about yourself more confidently [and will find opportunities that are a good fit for you].