5 Reasons Why You're Not Getting the Internship

By Kailey Walters on September 21, 2017

So you found this internship position that you’re really interested in, maybe from scrolling through an internship or job-hunting website or from one of many emails sent out by your college career center. Intrigued, you decide to apply and wait for the company to contact you. A few days later you have an interview, and you walk out feeling confident.

You expect a follow-up call or email with some sort of congratulations within the next few days. A week passes and you hear nothing. Another week passes and still nothing. Your confidence has begun to falter and you have no choice but to assume you haven’t gotten the position. You wonder, what in the world did I do wrong?

Many people experience this at one point or another — the rejection, the self-doubt, the constant rehashing of what mistakes they made. When it comes to an internship, especially, it’s important to look back on how you conducted yourself during the interview and think about what steps you can take to improve for the future.

Here are some reasons to consider for why you’re not landing the internship you want.

Putting little effort into your application

This could happen if you were rushing through the application process just to get it done, or you were applying to so many different internships at once that you didn’t take the time to customize your resume or cover letter for a specific position. You may think employers won’t notice if you’re a little vague in your application, but they most definitely will.

If you want to get noticed and stand out from the crowd, make sure to take your time filling out the application and finalizing additional documents such as your resume and cover letter, if those are required. Showing that you’re interested and committed to the internship position in your application will give off a good first impression to the employer.

Not researching the company

If you don’t do your research on the company you’re interviewing with, that gives off a bad vibe to the employer. He or she wants to see that you’re interested enough in the position to do your homework on what the company is about. That doesn’t mean you have to memorize every bit of information you can find, but at least do a thorough enough search to educate yourself on the basics, such as the company’s mission statement, its size, what it does, etc.

Acting unprofessionally

How you conduct yourself during an interview is of utmost importance. If you didn’t dress appropriately, said something that came across as either too boastful or too self-deprecating, or generally acted unenthusiastic about the position, you may have given off a poor first impression.

Employers want to see that you’re professional, courteous, and can handle yourself in a particular setting. For future interviews, you may want to think more carefully beforehand about what you’re going to say and how you’re going to act in front of the interviewer. For example, you could focus on improving your handshake or brainstorm answers to some questions they could possibly ask.

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Never following up

This may seem like a minor thing, but many employers think highly of candidates who follow up after an interview. If you forgot to follow up or just thought doing so would be unnecessary, have no fear — you can try it out for the next internship. Within at least a few days after the interview, simply send an email, keeping it short and sweet, to thank the interviewer for his or her time. You may be surprised by how much of an impact this could have.

After initially getting rejected from an internship I applied to, I sent a brief, simple email to the employer thanking her for her time and wishing her a good summer. The following week, she contacted me again to tell me she thought a lot of my thank you email and was reconsidering me for a position. (I ended up interning at that company for the whole summer.) In some cases, a little goes a long way.

It’s just not the right fit — for the company or for you

Sometimes, not getting the internship is out of your control. It may not have been anything you did specifically, but perhaps the company or the position itself is not the right fit for you. And that’s totally alright. Keep your chin up and always remember, there will be many other opportunities for you to impress future potential employers.

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