{"id":5374,"date":"2023-05-01T22:24:15","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T06:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ycisl.su.domains\/?p=5374"},"modified":"2023-05-01T22:36:46","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T06:36:46","slug":"question-how-to-get-an-internship-with-the-ycisl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ycisl.su.domains\/?p=5374","title":{"rendered":"Question: How to Get an Internship (with the YCISL)?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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While at the Mock Interviews at Foothill College last week, I noticed a flyer about “How to Get an Internship.” I snapped a photo of the flyer. I have some thoughts to share about what factors were involved in selecting mentor interns for the YCISL program. But first, I will disclose that I got my first internship as a junior undergraduate in college…and it wasn’t as simple as sending an email with a resume attachment. It took a lot of legwork and communication. It worked out great in the end because this was the start of my path to a PhD.<\/p>\n

Then there was the hard work (and luck) to get a postdoctoral research position (an internship by form and function) at Stanford University where I was fortunate to build my career of about 30 years. For this opportunity, I mainly credit (a) timing & timeliness which is mostly in the form of luck, and (b) a personality matching click which is difficult to predict. If I had to highlight three specific factors, I would list preparation (resume and past work), good listening and response skills, and authentic interest. But I am just guessing.<\/p>\n

I will now reflect on 5 things that I favor when I search for mentor interns for the YCISL program. This list is in the order that the factor runs through my brain…<\/p>\n

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  1. Resume. Stanford students applying for a YCISL internship would upload their resume (and cover letter) onto Stanford’s Career Center Jobs database (currently Handshake). Non-Stanford students (usually high school students) would be asked to email me a resume. I would usually take two quick scans of the resume: first for an overall style to reflect on attentiveness to detail, and second for…<\/li>\n
  2. Experience, Interests & Activities. I specifically look for hooks with the activities that I have planned for the YCISL program or would make for talking points in an interview. I would especially note engagement in group activities as well as vivid detail.<\/li>\n
  3. Cover Letter. I look upon the cover letter as an indicator of the ability to collect and communicate thoughts lucidly and to-the-point. Word choice and persuasive language are key. Humility is also appreciated. Usually about one or two applications per season get rejected because of an un-compelling cover letter.<\/li>\n
  4. Personality. The resume and cover letter can hint at the personality, but it really comes down to the interview. First impression is really important, and this might include dress, eye contact and the first spoken words. Beyond the first impression which usually takes about 1 minute, I try to drive a conversation using the talking points and observe responsiveness and soft skills.<\/li>\n
  5. Connection. A connection to Stanford University was usually required. That was an easy one for Stanford student applicants, but high school student applicants were often family of colleagues through my Stanford work, or had attended Stanford programs in the past. I used this as a means to make sure Stanford culture was an inherent ingredient of our YCISL mentor staff.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    To summarize, there are two parts: the remote pitch with the resume and cover letter, and the in-person pitch with the interview. For me, I was looking for trustworthy and dependable interns with initiative and motivation\u00a0 so that I could focus on the students in the program. It worked out well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    While at the Mock Interviews at Foothill College last week, I noticed a flyer about “How to Get an Internship.” I snapped a photo of the flyer. I have some thoughts to share about what factors were involved in selecting mentor interns for the YCISL program. But first, I will disclose that I got my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,29,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-people","category-planning","category-thoughts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ycisl.su.domains\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ycisl.su.domains\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ycisl.su.domains\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ycisl.su.domains\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ycisl.su.domains\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5374"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ycisl.su.domains\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5386,"href":"https:\/\/ycisl.su.domains\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5374\/revisions\/5386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ycisl.su.domains\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ycisl.su.domains\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ycisl.su.domains\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}