The spring semester may have just started a few weeks ago, but the Career Services staff are reminding students that it is best they research and pursue professional opportunities for the summer now in February and March rather than waiting until April and May.
Summer professional opportunities can include internships, full- and part-time positions, temporary and seasonal jobs, ongoing or one-time freelance projects, commissions, exhibitions and selling work, and volunteering. These may be remote, in-person or “hybrid” opportunities. We recommend that students be as flexible as possible regarding the type of opportunities they will consider.
Businesses and organizations usually focus on seniors and juniors (sometimes sophomores) for their internships and full-/part-time positions. First-year students can learn about internships and part-time positions, but may need to wait until their sophomore or junior year to be considered as applicants/candidates.
The MIAD Career Services Handshake website is a good resource for students to use. Students may review different tabs for resources.
- Jobs tab: Students may review the postings of professional opportunities.
- Employers tab: Students can research businesses that have recruited MIAD students/graduates.
- Events tab: Students can see lists of virtual presentations and discussions offered by professionals. Most of these are free.
We strongly encourage students to research employers in addition to reviewing postings of opportunities. Many creative businesses find candidates for their positions from students who have directly contacted them instead of posting their position and receiving applicants.
The Career Center Resources section of the MIAD Handshake website offers other websites to use for searching postings and researching potential employers. LinkedIn is a resource in addition to Handshake that is strongly recommended for students to use.
Several businesses/organizations will request students to provide work samples and a resume as part of the application process or when a student directly contacts a business/organization to inquire about possible summer professional opportunities.
The Career Services staff are available to help students. Email: careerservices@miad.edu.