31 January 2009

Waitlisted for an Internship?

Competitive internships may form a waiting list (or "waitlist") of those applicants who were "almost selected." And popular internships may do the same for applicants who were simply "too late."

If you are waitlisted, should you count on inching your way up the list? Probably not. Imagine yourself on the accepted list: would you very, very likely hang onto that internship? Yep. So, don't count on the people who got in to give up their slots.

Recommendation #1: Contact the internship and ask how long the waitlist is. It's also OK to ask what your chances are of being contacted later for an opening.

Recommendation #2: Search for another internship! Return to your original search notes and re-investigate the opportunities similar to the one you lost out on. Don't stop there—this is the time to broaden your category of internship, too.

The fact that your first choice is already filled may indicate that many other people had the same idea you did. Broadening the search is the smart thing to do, now.


The content on this blog is not offered as legal advice or guidance. Consult your college, advisor, or internship supervisor for help with issues surrounding internships. © 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. Dr. Bold is a co-author of the book Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. More about Dr. Bold can be learned at www.marybold.com

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Students may avail of more scholarships, internships and other benefits in http://www.nuresume.com when they create their online resumes there. They can meet with fellow students through the social network integrated within the site and learn from outstanding profiles on how to improve one's portfolio.
It's also a place to get updates on that internship you got asked for.

Anonymous said...

It terms of wait list heirarchy, I was contacted about an internship I applied for and was engaged in a 20 mintue phone call where I was told exact information on what interns would do during their time at work, if I had transportation, and safety regulations that all interns should follow only to be told that I was an alternative and if anyone declined from the first batch invitations I would be contacted in two to four weeks. From the likes of it it would seem I would be on the top of the list, if not the first to be called. I'm still not what to think of this since I think this would be an amazing opportunity for me. What do you think? The researcher who called me wouldn't go through all that trouble to just to tell me "sorry, you didn't get it" in that manner if I wasn't REALLY being considerd as the first alternate. This ambiguity is so frustrating!