Internship interview

[Hacp]

So I have an internship interview at a local company. I don't have any idea what to study.

Update: So I got the internship a while ago and I started but I hate it. Its R&D stuff, lots of paper searching and product design. The project I was assigned is potentially impossible to do. How am I going to design a product in 3 months? Impossible! I should have accepted the other one I got offered which was more process related. Sigh. It was really a bad fit.

 

[gorcorps]

It's an internship, so they won't ask about stuff you would have to study for... just stuff you should know by now anyway. If you have to study you aren't right for the job. That's just how it is. Other than info about the company and stuff I wouldn't expect it to be out of your league unless the entire job would be that way.

 

[Hacp]

It's an internship, so they won't ask about stuff you would have to study for... just stuff you should know by now anyway. If you have to study you aren't right for the job. That's just how it is. Other than info about the company and stuff I wouldn't expect it to be out of your league unless the entire job would be that way.

Well, I'm worried because I've taken so many classes that they could ask anything.

 

[vi edit]

They probably aren't looking for the right answer (unless it's something very elementary to your field) rather they are looking at your method for problem solving. So you can't really study for that.

 

[LumbergTech]

They probably aren't looking for the right answer (unless it's something very elementary to your field) rather they are looking at your method for problem solving. So you can't really study for that.

eh sorta,

what about a class that goes over algorithmic strategies? helps you learn how to digest problems

 

[Saint Nick]

I think you're over analyzing it. My past internship interviews haven't been terribly technical in nature. They're likely going to ask you some stuff about maybe Windows and Microsoft Office use, such as functions in Access and Excel.

You'll be fine.

Internships are there to teach the intern -- they're not expecting you to know how to do everything already. Just keep that in mind.

 

[BoomerD]

You're probably fucked. I doubt they'll tolerate thieves...and you've already shown yourself to be such.

 

[Capt Caveman]

You're probably fucked. I doubt they'll tolerate thieves...and you've already shown yourself to be such.

This. Who the hell is going to want to hire the OP?

 

[Theb]

Thief? Elaborate please.

 

[Saint Nick]

Thief? Elaborate please.

I think he "found" a cell phone in a Wal-Mart and got called out for stealing it. He came here and posted that he "found" it, but it was obvious he stole it.

 

[Engineer]

I think he "found" a cell phone in a Wal-Mart and got called out for stealing it. He came here and posted that he "found" it, but it was obvious he stole it.

Don't know about that one but he took his roommate's ice cream (expensive organic stuff), ate it and then refilled the container with cheap stuff. Might have washed the carton out (don't remember...bleach maybe?).

Edit: found it...

 

[Saint Nick]

Don't know about that one but he took his roommate's ice cream (expensive organic stuff), ate it and then refilled the container with cheap stuff. Might have washed the carton out (don't remember...bleach maybe?).

Oh yeah...who the hell am I thinking of?

 

[Engineer]

Oh yeah...who the hell am I thinking of?

I remember the cell phone story but don't remember who it was.

 

[vi edit]

Oh yeah...who the hell am I thinking of?

Android Vegeta (or something along those lines)

 

[Texashiker]

Invest some time looking at the background of the company.

When the person doing the interview ask you "why do you want to work at acme" - you can answer, "since its founding in 1978, acme has been an industry leader in the manufacture of insulation. Founder John Doe had a simple motto <insert motto here>, and I would like to be part such an organization "

 

[Saint Nick]

Android Vegeta (or something along those lines)

Good call...

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2107564&highlight=cell

 

[Phokus]

You're probably fucked. I doubt they'll tolerate thieves...and you've already shown yourself to be such.

Literally my first thought as well.

 

[Schfifty Five]

After reading the ice cream thread, I hope OP doesn't get hired.

 

[Saint Nick]

After reading the ice cream thread, I hope OP doesn't get hired.

After reading the cell phone thread, I hope the OP doesn't get hired.

 

[96Firebird]

After reading the cell phone thread, I hope the OP doesn't get hired.

After reading this thread, I don't care whether or not the OP gets hired.

 

[Rumpltzer]

This thread took an interesting turn.

 

[mmntech]

Internships are more like an extension of the classroom, rather than a job these days. At least from my experience. I wouldn't worry too much. Take it as an educational experience. That's how they'll be viewing it. You're just slave labour in their eyes. There to do the grunt work. Don't worry too much.

 

[BoomerD]

This thread took an interesting turn.

As they all so often do...

Ones like AndroidVagina's cell phone thread are rare...and thus, cherished.

 

[Rumpltzer]

Internships in my experience have been charity or public relations. That is, most of the interns perform very little meaningful work and get paid a lot better than they would working at a grocery store or Best Buy.

There are exceptions, but that's what I get out of ~80&#37; of the interns that I worked with or have seen at my own company.

That said, all engineering students need to do as many summer internships as they can get. When others are struggling to fill up a page of resume out of school, those who had internships will look a lot better.

 

[Born2bwire]

Internships in my experience have been charity or public relations. That is, most of the interns perform very little meaningful work and get paid a lot better than they would working at a grocery store or Best Buy.

There are exceptions, but that's what I get out of ~80% of the interns that I worked with or have seen at my own company.

That said, all engineering students need to do as many summer internships as they can get. When others are struggling to fill up a page of resume out of school, those who had internships will look a lot better.

I've always had the exact opposite impression. Stuff I did as an intern directly contributed to the company. For example, one intern's project (not mine though, I was helping research the viability of using MEMS switches to make reconfigurable antennas) was to help write a software based voice synthesizer for Stephen Hawking.