The 3 Strategic Shifts for Internship Success

If internship rejections are piling up, it’s rarely about effort. It’s usually about your

strategy and how well you told your story. Before sending another application, here

are the three shifts I recommend to sophomores and juniors:

What is your ultimate goal? Experience? Exposure? Clarifying what you want to do?

What experience are you actually trying to build?

If you want to work in an ad agency as an account person, yes — you can apply to ad agency

internships.

But you can also look for roles that build the skills account managers use.

If you’re not sure what those skills are, read a few job descriptions.

Look for patterns.

Client-facing experience.

Project coordination.

Multi-tasking across stakeholders.

Communication under deadlines.

Those skills can be built in many environments — not just agencies.

When you identify roles that align with your long-term direction, target companies that hire

underclassmen, and tailor your materials specifically for that path, your strategy shifts.

Internship searches aren’t lottery tickets.

They’re positioning exercises.

Shift #2: From “I Don’t Have Enough Experience” → Clear Value Story

Most students underestimate their experience.

Class projects, Leadership roles.

Part-time jobs, Volunteer work.

Sports, Personal initiatives.

All of these build transferable skills.

Internships aren’t awarded to the most experienced.

They’re awarded to the clearest communicator of value.

Now pause and look at your materials.

If you were reviewing this application…

Have you created a story about your experience that stands out?

Would you want to meet this person to learn more?

The student who gets the interview isn’t necessarily “better.

”

They’ve simply learned how to communicate their experience

Shift #1: Clarify the Goal Before You Apply

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→YourCareerCompass | Career Strategy & Coaching

About Samantha Glatzer

I’m an ICF Certified coach through Brown University ACT and a former creative recruiter

with 20+ years of experience helping students and professionals clarify direction, position

themselves strategically, and land aligned roles.

I specialize in supporting people in “the in-between,

” especially during early career

transitions.

Shift #3: From Job Boards → Relationship-Led Strategy

Sophomores rarely stand out in cold applicant pools.

They gain traction through relationships.

Alumni outreach.

Informational interviews.

Professors.

Local businesses.

Startups.

Nonprofits.

Community organizations.

The real question becomes:

Who could say yes before the role is even posted?

Because internships are often secured through conversations — not just applications.

Stop asking,

“Where should I apply?”

Start asking,

“Who should I be talking to?”