Weinberg sophomore Aimee O’Malley was scared last summer because she didn’t have a summer internship.

O’Malley she said she was frustrated and scared because she knew the importance of getting an internship.

“At this school, life is very career-oriented,” O’Malley said. “Your resume can look very good, but you need the experience behind it.”

With the pressures of finding that perfect summer experience, Northwestern students often find themselves agonizing for months over internship opportunities.

O’Malley worked at Starbucks last summer, but after months of working on her resume and cover letter, she was accepted as an intern in April for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in her hometown of Springfield, Ill.

O’Malley used University Career Services to help shape her cover letter and resume before submitting them to Obama’s campaign.

UCS helps students in all six undergraduate schools target their career goals with workshops, special events and networking opportunities.

Prior to getting in touch with UCS, O’Malley said she didn’t know how to write a cover letter. But this year, she attended a dorm fireside sponsored by UCS and received a template to help her with applications.

Students are worrying about internships because employers are increasingly looking for them on students’ resumes, UCS Internship Coordinator Beth Lundberg said.

Internships simplify the process of hiring people, Lundberg said. Employers can see students perform during an internship without bearing any costs.

Lundberg added that getting a paying job over the summer in lieu of an internship doesn’t harm future internship prospects.

“I would never tell a student that it’s not smart to be a camp counselor or lifeguard,” she said. “It’s still possible to get an internship regardless.”

Part-time internships of five to 10 hours per week offer students the opportunity to juggle a paying job while still gathering internship experience, Lundberg said.

UCS encourages students to explain their personal and financial situations to potential employers and ask if part-time internship are offered, Lundberg said.

But applicants have to be aware of the timetable for applying. Deadlines for some of the most coveted positions sit as early as nine months before summer begins. For example, the deadline for a summer 2007 internship with The Washington Post is Nov. 1, 2006.

Journalism, finance and government internships have the earliest deadlines, Lundberg said.

Public relations and nonprofit organizations, on the other hand, have application deadlines as late as Spring Quarter.

Internships after junior year are the most important because students can hope for a full-time job offer, Lundberg said.

O’Malley said she knows the application process will begin again soon.

“I’m stressed about having to do the whole thing over again next year,” O’Malley said. “You hear about a lot of internships being reserved for juniors and seniors. It should hopefully get easier with this (internship) under my belt.”

Reach Chris Gentilviso at [email protected].