Intern and cooperative positions within the high-tech industry

pm

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Jan 25, 2000
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Over the years posting here at Anandtech, I have occassionally gotten questions about internships and cooperative positions within the industry. It's been a tough time in the industry to look for these positions in the last two years, but it's looking like it might be getting easier in the coming year. Cooperatives are typically longer term assignments (3-6 months typically), internships are typically shorter (3 months typically). I'll use the term internship from here on to discuss both of them.

I decided to start a thread on this subject because I thought it might be of interest to Anandtech'ers, might be a place for people to share their experiences with internships and to get questions answered.

In my opinion, the easiest way to get a job in the industry coming out of college is if you successfully completed an internship while you were attending university. In addition, after graduation you can go into job-hunting and interviews with (hopefully) a job offer from the company that you interned with which reduces a lot of the stress. Most importantly, if one is studying engineering, one ideally would like to get job doing engineering over the summer rather than, say, working at a fast-food restaurant. You gain on the job experience, you build career relationships, you generally get paid better and have better benefits, and you can make sure that you are studying the right profession.. :)

So how does one get an internship? Most major universities have recruitment fairs where employers show up to offer positions and discuss their company. Speaking with one of these reps about internship opportunities is a good way to start. Career centers at universities are another valuable resource for finding opportunities. Alternatively, with the larger companies you can just submit a resume to them and hope for the best. I personally got my internship (and my job) by submitting a resume through the company webpage rather than through a career center or a recruitment fair, but probably the more effective way is to meet with a representative of the the employer.

Most companies have minimum grade-point requirements and will require that you are a full-time student at an accreditted institution. Intel has a minimum GPA requirement of 3.0 out of a 4.0 grading system. If your GPA is less than this, it's not a waste of time applying, but you will almost certainly be asked about the reason behind the lower GPA, and you may be asked to provide a transcript of grades in specific courses relevant to the job.

The biggest part of an internship that I would like to mention is to encourage interested students simply to apply. Some students do not realize how early you should to apply for them, miss the deadline and then give up on getting one when they find out they missed the deadline. Intel is currently reviewing resumes for next summer's internships right now. So if one were interested in applying for an internship at Intel for next summer, now is the time to submit a resume and apply - although there are usually openings in some groups within Intel year-round. Other companies start on the process earlier or later, and some routinely review resumes year-round. The point is that there is no real deadline at most of the major companies, including Intel, there is merely a best time to apply... and that best time is now at most of the larger companies.

For resumes, I would recommend mentioning relevant skills in detail, and also relevant projects. If you have experience in Java, make sure you mention the word "Java" and not "Extensive programming experience in portable object-oriented programming languages". At the larger companies, groups search through the database looking for keywords to find applicants so it's important to have those keywords in the resume. That said, it is important to mention skills that you actually have more than some familiarity in because I know that I personally craft my interviews around the resume and so if someone mentions that, as an example, they know digital logic design, I will ask a lot of digital logic design questions.

If you are interested in an internship, just make sure to apply. At Intel, there's a webpage here and most other major companies have similar pages. Lastly, for what it's worth, I personally have no say in hiring at Intel aside from occassionally conducting interviews, so please do not submit a resume to me since I can't do anything with it.
 

CTho9305

Elite Member
Jul 26, 2000
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Nice post :).

Originally posted by: pm
So how does one get an internship? Most major universities have recruitment fairs where employers show up to offer positions and discuss their company. Speaking with one of these reps about internship opportunities is a good way to start.
That's how I got my AMD interviews and subsequently an offer for a co-op starting in Spring... I talked to a rep at a career fair here. I got the impression he didn't like my resume, but apparently it was good enough ;).

That said, it is important to mention skills that you actually have more than some familiarity in because I know that I personally craft my interviews around the resume and so if someone mentions that, as an example, they know digital logic design, I will ask a lot of digital logic design questions.
...and don't BS them by listing something you dont know, you'll get caught ;).
 

andyman7

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Jan 22, 2003
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ahhh this reminded me to start sending out my resume
how important is it to make contacts with a company thru a career fair?
i couldnt go to mine b/c of work/class during the fair
i went to a seminar put on by a recruiter from northrop grumman and he made it seem like making contacts at the fair was fairly important
also, since im a second year engineering student, i just dont feel like i have much to offer to companies when they are looking for summer interns b/c i havent gotten into the "meat" of the computer engineering curriculum yet
any thoughts?
 

jaydee

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May 6, 2000
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As an EE sophomore on co-op right now, I have to agree with much of what pm has said here. If I could add to it, I;d say not to be afraid to take a job at a less glorious place to work, or for someone where you won't specifically use the knowledge gained from your core courses. I would have loved to have gotten in with AMD, Intel, nVidia or the like, but it just wasn't going to happen.

I'm co-op'ing with a Civil Engineering firm, and while much of the work is not directly applicable to Electrical Engineering, there are many ways that I'm benefiting:

Working as an Engineer with other Engineers in a professional enviroment. There are countless tricks of the trade fundemental to all engineering disciplines. Doing Civil E. stuff, I've done a report where I had to take topography maps, convert cross-sectional areas into elevation maps using AutoCAD and find river depths with the flood data provided and Manning's equation. When I finished, this report was 30 pages long including maps, AutoCAD drawings, tables, and procedure/calculations. What this report (and others) has taught me, is a ton of MS Excel (I thought I knew it fairly well coming in), AutoCAD, problem solving skills, utilizing all sorts of resources (ranging from google, to text books, to calling up the CEO of a small company and asking about how a particular technology works), proof-reading technical papers, and many other little things like that. Beyond the general stuff I can read and interpret Boring logs, SVOC reports, I know what chemical pollutants result from different types of leaks and spills, and more about landfills than I'll ever need to know. I feel much more well-rounded in as an Engineer with this specific experience, and I know that it will help me in the long-run (not to mention the short-term benefit of paying for most of my tuition bill next semester).


I've also participated in co-op fairs and company presentations. They are very important. You need to go out and shake peoples hands. Ask questions about what you already know (go to their website beforehand). Keep in mind that they know nothing about you other than your resume in front of them. Show some initiative, ask for a business card, ect.

There are other ways to get into companies. Don't just submit your resume online, send an email or make a phone call to an H.R. person expressing your interest. Often they themselves can't be of much help directly (especially in technical disciplines), but they can forward your enthusiam to the right people. They have your name in their head when they go to look at resumes for openings. This is important.


Hope this helps.
 

blahblah99

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Oct 10, 2000
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Originally posted by: jaydee
As an EE sophomore on co-op right now, I have to agree with much of what pm has said here. If I could add to it, I;d say not to be afraid to take a job at a less glorious place to work, or for someone where you won't specifically use the knowledge gained from your core courses. I would have loved to have gotten in with AMD, Intel, nVidia or the like, but it just wasn't going to happen.

I'm co-op'ing with a Civil Engineering firm, and while much of the work is not directly applicable to Electrical Engineering, there are many ways that I'm benefiting:

Working as an Engineer with other Engineers in a professional enviroment. There are countless tricks of the trade fundemental to all engineering disciplines. Doing Civil E. stuff, I've done a report where I had to take topography maps, convert cross-sectional areas into elevation maps using AutoCAD and find river depths with the flood data provided and Manning's equation. When I finished, this report was 30 pages long including maps, AutoCAD drawings, tables, and procedure/calculations. What this report (and others) has taught me, is a ton of MS Excel (I thought I knew it fairly well coming in), AutoCAD, problem solving skills, utilizing all sorts of resources (ranging from google, to text books, to calling up the CEO of a small company and asking about how a particular technology works), proof-reading technical papers, and many other little things like that. Beyond the general stuff I can read and interpret Boring logs, SVOC reports, I know what chemical pollutants result from different types of leaks and spills, and more about landfills than I'll ever need to know. I feel much more well-rounded in as an Engineer with this specific experience, and I know that it will help me in the long-run (not to mention the short-term benefit of paying for most of my tuition bill next semester).


I've also participated in co-op fairs and company presentations. They are very important. You need to go out and shake peoples hands. Ask questions about what you already know (go to their website beforehand). Keep in mind that they know nothing about you other than your resume in front of them. Show some initiative, ask for a business card, ect.

There are other ways to get into companies. Don't just submit your resume online, send an email or make a phone call to an H.R. person expressing your interest. Often they themselves can't be of much help directly (especially in technical disciplines), but they can forward your enthusiam to the right people. They have your name in their head when they go to look at resumes for openings. This is important.


Hope this helps.


The best way to get your resume noticed is to obtain the email of the direct hiring manager of the department and email it to him/her. HR isn't the one who's going to interview you.

I know 99% of the company out there go through some sort of 3rd party hiring agency or job database, but if you can find a way to get your resume to the manager, it'll let him know that you are genuinely interested in the job and not just some schmoe who's looking to get paid.

It'll help if you have skills in your area too. :)
 

Eskimo

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Jun 18, 2000
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I'd have to echo what others have said about the value of interning. I believe my co-ops gave me the necessary skill set and experience to more effectively compete for positions out of college. Based on some of the activities I participated in during my co-ops I effectively got a jump start on other new grads I was hired on with and was able to transition to a full time engineer more quickly and effectively.

Getting your foot in the door is obviously the hardest part of the entire process. Personally I never got any positive experiences during on campus job fairs since usually by that time the positions I was interested in were already filled. However, it is a great place to make contacts, especially when engineers or other technical types show up in addition to the HR reps. Try to side step HR if you can and network with the people who can actually make hiring type decisions. Submitting to a website can work, like pm that is how I landed my first co-op with AMD.

Definately be proactive, start attending career fairs your freshman or sophmore years to get email addresses if nothing else. Start emailing recruiters about 9 months before you want to start working, corporations are far from efficient in handling resumes and hiring paperwork. The sign off loop alone to hire on someone after a decision to extend an offer can take weeks if you are lucky, months if you aren't. Remember the engineers do have a real job to perform, so don't pester them all the time, but keep after it and show you really want the position.

This process is not fair, as much as everyone espouses that they consider all canidates equally there will invariably be examples of favortism. Don't bitch about it, use it to your advantage as much as you can. Find names of engineers and managers who are alumni from your college at a company you are interested in. Ask your professors, especially if they are involved in research with some of these companies, that will give your resume the inside track on actually landing on the right desk. Talk to friends who have interned for a company already, they can tell you who to get in touch with. If you are an undergrad make some friends with the seniors and grad students in your department, once they get hired on they will be in a good position to push for you to get an internship or even full time job at graduation. Keep your eyes and ears open, there are opportunities in places you never thought of.

For those of you still in the position of considering a college to attend I would strongly urge you to look at the strength and record of your prospective schools in placing students in internships or co-ops within the industry. I'd much rather hire a 3.5gpa student with a year of co-ops in the industry than a 4.0 student who has never actually set foot in a fab before.

 

pm

Elite Member Mobile Devices
Jan 25, 2000
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Any one got any tips for someone in the UK?
I attended university at Durham (BSc. and Msc.) and I did my internship in the UK with Inmos down in Bristol - they are now part of SGS Thompson, I believe. I lucked into mine and I'm not sure how much advice I could give. Additionally all my experience with the UK job market is probably hopelessly out of date.. My best advice for landing an internship in the UK based on my experience is to make sure that the faculty know you are interested in one since they are often aware of positions as they become available. This is how I landed mine with Inmos; I mentioned to my tutor that I was trying to find one and he had just heard about an internship with Inmos being available. Also watch the corporate presentations as they come up and go to them and try and meet with the corporate represenatives... if nothing else, it's free food. Spend time writing a good c.v., have people read it and give you advice on it and bring it with you.
 

Peter

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Oct 15, 1999
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... and when you're in Germany, studying in a "Fachhochschule" (FH, engineering school, similar to University level difficulty, but with a more practical focus), you even _have_ to go out for a 20-week internship. Twice.
Rather than taking an FH internal assignment, find companies near you that do what you're studying, and talk to them about possible assignments early. Show your interest, be active about your application.

Particularly the 2nd internship term (in your 3rd year at FH usually) is an important opportunity. You'll be assigned an actual engineering task (because the FH rules demand so). Most companies will assign you a task from within a REAL project. This is your opportunity to demo your skills, your learning and teamwork abilities and all that.