Where have you been looking for internship or job leads?
Penn State’s Nittany Lion Career Network is a great starting point.
Talking to your family, faculty, classmates and other friends is an important second resource– in other words, use your already existing network of contacts.
But how else can you tap into the people or resources of your intended career field when you are just starting out? Think “Professional Associations”. Most career fields have professional organizations for people working in those areas, whether they are certifying organizations (like the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) or ones that exist for the professional benefit of their members, such as the American Marketing Association.
These organizations almost all have websites that can help you learn a lot about the related career field. They often also have a career section with a job board and relevant information for students looking to enter the profession as well as current professionals.
One web site that has free lists of professional associations by field is
http://www.weddles.com/associations/index.cfm
Scroll down the page to The Association Directory Category list and find more than 75 categories with numerous entries for each one. The list is both general (for example, Business, Health Care, Engineering) and more specific, with subcategories for each of those areas, and so many more.
Some student clubs on campus are student affiliates of their corresponding professional organization, and becoming a member may allow you to use sections of their website that are sometimes limited to members. So check them out, and start building your professional identity while you do your job or internship search.
Be sure to check with the Career Services office as well, as we have some directories and other resources to assist you in your search.