An internship can be a great way to gain hands-on industry experience alongside your academic journey. Statistics & Computer Science student Rohan Gavankar talks about how he successfully landed an internship, and what helped him as he searched for and applied to different positions.
The internship search can be a daunting and stressful process, but there are ways to stand out. Remember, it’s never too late to start looking!
Building a Strong Resume
Before you even start applying for internships, make sure your resume is in top shape. Update it with your latest courses, skills, experiences, and projects. If you feel like your resume needs more depth, start building it with simple projects. YouTube is full of tutorials to help you get started, and once you find a project, go deep rather than wide—focus on making one or two projects thorough rather than scattering your efforts across five. Even class projects, like those from STAT 107, can be valuable additions to your resume. I suggest using Jake’s resume template as it is very common in industry.
Finding Ways to Stand Out
With so many applicants for each job posting, standing out is crucial. As a freshman, I learned about Research Park in Champaign, a technology hub with companies offering internships exclusively for UIUC students. For freshmen and sophomores, this type of program is ideal because many places tend to favor juniors and seniors. Rather than wasting time applying to postings with strict requirements, I focused on Research Park, attending open houses, career fairs, and info sessions. This approach landed me multiple interviews and ultimately a data science internship at Country Financial for the summer! Freshman and sophomore years are also perfect times to explore company specific programs, like information sessions or summits. Some companies even fly students out to their offices for these events! In my sophomore year, I applied to a hackathon for JP Morgan and got in. Working with other CS majors from around the country, I built an application for a nonprofit in just 24 hours. That experience ultimately led to a software engineering internship at JP Morgan, all without a traditional interview. So, beyond the roles themselves, look for hackathons, information sessions, and summits that can boost your visibility and get your foot in the door.
Network, Network, Network
Networking can be one of your biggest assets in the internship search. Building connections with employees at companies you’re interested in can lead to referrals, giving you a huge leg up. Use LinkedIn and Handshake to connect with employees and recruiters who might be able to help. Career fairs are also great networking opportunities if you go with a plan. Make a list of companies you want to talk to, know what you want to discuss, and prioritize those connections. This approach helped me secure multiple interviews and saved time by focusing on meaningful conversations rather than aimlessly wandering from booth to booth.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Finding the right internship took persistence—balancing schoolwork, personal projects, and application deadlines isn’t easy. I constantly revised my resume and kept practicing my technical skills, and it paid off with offers in data science and software engineering. But if you don’t land an internship, don’t worry. There are so many alternatives, like research or taking the summer to build your skills through projects or courses.
Why Internships Are Worthwhile
Internships give you real-world experience and the chance to work in teams in ways that classes don’t. They helped me grow technically and developed my skills as a collaborator and communicator. Especially as we spend so much time doing things like projects and studying individually and for ourselves, internships are a great way to learn what it is like to work for something else. An internship is one of the most valuable steps you can take to build your career path, and I wish you the best of luck in your internship search!
Rohan mentions working at County Financial; you can read more about CF at Research Park on campus here!
Photos courtesy of Rohan Gavankar
Rohan is a member of the Statistics Ambassadors group which represents the Department of Statistics in various capacities. Click here to learn more about the Statistics Ambassadors.