Is it Possible for Me to Get Hired as an Intern?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1718229

by isitpossible • 16 years ago

4 3 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

So.. here's the deal. I'm 19, live in Vancouver and been programming for ~2.5 yrs. I know, I started a bit late and I truly regret that.

Since I started programming, I fell in love with it and I tried to learn as much as I could (Linux, Windows, C, C++, Java, Python, Git, XHTML, SQL, etc). Your alarms probably went off right there. Thing is, I know a little about a lot of things. If you ask me some basic questions about C like pointers, I can probably answer you. If you ask me what abstract methods, interfaces, etc are in Java and how they work, I can answer that as well.

However, my main problem right now is I don't have any projects that I'm truly proud of to show my employer. I only have small tools (around 100-300) lines of code. Examples of these are (imgur uploader, irc bot built using twisted, multiple todo list with timers, crappy looking review site I built in my web dev class, etc). I would contribute to open source but I'm on a full load right now (7 classes) and it's almost impossible to work on something without depriving myself of sleep.

My question right now is, how can I present myself to an employer (through cover letter and resume) as someone who can solve a few problems here and there and who's truly passionate about software development?

QLMag• 16 years ago

First, 19 is still young. If you have some real-world experience and have either completed, or are in the process of getting an education/training to back it up, you can certainly position yourself for a paid internship. I was able to hold down a great internship in design with just some photoshop work I did when I was 16. It's definitely about your passion and true potential. Just show that you have a roadmap to bring value to the company, while being able to learn from them as well, and you'll do fine.

cliffchang• 16 years ago

I interview plenty of people, for fulltime positions and internships, and, basically, yes, you can definitely be hired.

It sounds like you're starting your 2nd year of college now, and most of your peers have pretty thin resumes, too. The fact that you have pursued personal projects beyond classwork already puts you ahead of the vast majority of candidates. Be sure to provide links to the source code for the projects you hacked together in your resume. Even though you don't think they're perfect, they show your passion, and that's what people are looking for.

In the cover letter, talk about how you discovered programming, how much you've learned in just 2.5 years, how much you want to learn still. I didn't start coding, really, until halfway into my freshman year, and I was still able to find internships.

Once your resume is strong enough (and providing links to good code that you wrote will look very good, for a college student), it's just the interview, and it doesn't seem like you're asking about that.

P.S.

Another way of doing things is getting to know some professors well (TA for them, ask them lots of questions, talk to them after class, etc.), and asking them to help you find an internship. A lot of companies trust professors' opinions of their students a lot more than resumes when deciding who to interview.

devmonk• 16 years ago

Do what you said you can't. Get code into Github, etc. Focus on one project that you're interested in, and do it well. As people have stated recently, go to bed earlier, wake up earlier so you work on it first thing for a few hours each day. Don't develop all of it and then contribute it- come up with the idea and as soon as you have something- anything- worth sharing, put it up there. Then start adding to that. Once it is up, you'll be less timid about contributing more.

Spend adequate time on beefing up your resume to look like the best resumes you find on the web (in your opinion). Spend time on interviewing technique, but realize that the people interviewing don't like evasiveness and are just looking for someone that knows what they are talking about (not someone trying to show that they know) and that is a good culture fit and wants the job (and says at the end that they want it). Don't mention money or benefits until they make an offer.

Is it Possible for Me to Get Hired as an Intern?

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