How to obtain an internship?

>>18645534
Well what do you want to do?

>>18645534
Honestly, career fairs aren't going to get you an internship. Have a conversation, get their business card, follow up "It was great meeting you, would love to talk further sometime" or something like that.

Networking is the real key. Anyone who tells you that you can get the job of your dreams through talent alone is a liar or a moron.

Be well dressed and articulate when talking. It also helps to be a tall handsome white male with a deep voice. Appearance is everything. People usually don't care about your grades or experience unless you are retarded.

>>18645542
That's the problem, I am not so sure. It seems like most of ChemE is in the field of either oil/natural gas, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, etc. But I'm not sure how to spin any of it in a way to make it seem like I care about it when I have no clue what's going on

>>18645545
So you just go up to them and just talk about anything? You don't talk to them about what your passions lie in, your skills, your experience, etc. It's mostly just opening up to a conversation about anything?

>>18645545
Oh my god stop giving trash advice where the fuck do you work, walmart? holy fuck now I have a perfect gauge of how useless advice on this board is about everything else thanks to the responses ITT
OP, engineering career fairs are THE place to get internships. It is critical you get one or two during the course of your undergrad
The way to sound passionate about what they do is be passionate about what they do, you picked this fucking major didn't you? styrofoam production should be something that interests you, the structure of their business is supposed to be fascinating (protip it is, unless you are a retard)

>>18645548
And talk about what? I thought the point was to talk about your grades and experience because thats what employers want to see in a candidate

>>18645565
Not anything. Ask about their company and what they do. Be personable. They'll probably ask about your major and shit. The key is following up after and talking to recruiters later


>>18645579
I work on wall street. Fuck off. You're a nerd virgin engineer. I slay pussy every night at Merril and get a 30K bonus.

>>18645579
I'm a retard. How is stryofoam production (or producing any sort of synthetic polymers or some shit like soap) and the structuring of their business supposed to be fascinating?

>>18645579
Also, don't put too much weight on career fairs. Reach out to alumni who work at companies you're interested in directly. Or just cold email recruiters.

The key is networking. Get your foot in the door, meet people, and you'll find something eventually

>>18645584
But don't they usually expect the candidate to know what the company does before hand? And how do you follow up after?

>>18645581
Ask questions and get them to talk. It should feel like you are extracting information from them, not the other way around. When talking about yourself, make it concise. You don't have to stand out, as long as you don't make any mistakes.

>>18645591
Not at a career fair. You're just looking around and seeing what's out there. If you have the list beforehand, maybe have some sense of what they do but being curious is a good thing

>>18645588
>>18645600
>>18645601

What kind of shit do I ask them without sounding like I memorized the questions from google before interviewing them

>>18645611
Ask about their job and play it by ear. Just show genuine interest in the industry. If a specific chemical process they mention interests you or something ask if they could talk some more about that

>>18645611
Extending conversations is not something you rehearse. Go with the flow. If they talk about x, ask more about x. If they go into y, maybe ask about their opinion on y. Try to make it a conversation by keeping your responses asymmetrical, not like an awkward Q/A session.

Oh also I forgot to mention, most companies aren't interested in sophomores, they haven't taken enough discipline-specific coursework and they want juniors or seniors. Don't sweat it now, try to spend you summer learning extra skills instead, it can be anything: programming, machining, electronics, etc.

>>18645587
I have no clue. You picked the major, you should know how to feign interest at least. I'm sure plenty of companies have ChemE's feed into them

>>18645584
you are a bank teller with a b-school degree, the place engineering dropouts would couldn't make the cut go
no one gives a fuck about the 90 hours you spent sucking your boss's dick this week

>>18645709
>bank teller

Are you retarded? Have fun making 100K, 50 years out of college while I pull in 200K this year. Faggot

>>18645709
A lot of companies hire freshman and sophomores, especially in the better state schools and private schools and especially in my school. I feel like I would be behind if I don't get an internship or at least a co-op

>>18645735
>have fun while I pull on my boss's penis and squeeze the last drop of cum into my mouth

>>18645745
>A lot of companies
smaller ones with rampant nepotism do, have you actually compared yourself with your peers and do you know if most get internships?
it doesn't matter what school you go to, you know just as much as anybody from any school would know after completing a single year which is absolutely fucking nothing

>>18645735
http://www.pnas.org/content/107/38/16489
http://wws.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/content/docs/news/Happiness_Money_Report.pdf