The perfect internship has several characteristics, but each student will need to determine those based on their needs.

“You want something to bring more meaning to the area you’re studying and look for a way to apply classroom concepts as well what you have learned on the job,” said Carol Gorman, a coordinator for the Cooperative Education office at NIU.

The internship fair is right around the corner and in order to find the perfect internship, students should begin preparing now.

“I advise that students look on our Web site to see who is coming,” Gorman said. “If they are interested, then they need to do research on the company Web site and look at job descriptions that are listed.”

Gorman also explained that students must have a résumé ready. She also suggested that students look at a map of the ballroom to see where the tables are at.

“It is a good idea to prioritize who they want to see and plan a route,” she said.

Gorman specified that the most important step is being prepared.

“If they’re well prepared, they will have a good idea of who the companies are and what positions they have to offer. Students also need to know themselves well and know what they are interested in doing,” she said.

Gorman also encourages freshmen to get involved now. “We can place people as early as freshman summer,” she said.

“Start searching early,” said electrical engineering major Brain Madderom. “My buddy got a little cocky and didn’t start looking and he couldn’t find an internship. He had to work at a gas station and a farm.”

Madderom served as an intern last summer with a small electrical engineering company. “I got to do actual work. Now, back at school, I am learning what I have already done. I also got to go on some business trips to Colorado and Kansas.”

Even though it is generally agreed that internships are beneficial to almost any major, some students still don’t plan on going to the fair.

“I am interested in higher education and I want to gain experience,” sophomore history major Sharon Turner said. “But they didn’t really give us any information about the fair. So, I plan on looking for [an internship] on my own.”

Gorman, however, said that going to the fair will give people a good head start.

“If you’ve got a good handle on what [the companies] are looking for and on what you have done and what you want to do, you will be able to find an internship that fits you,” she said.