How to Find Internships as a Communications Major

Summer 2026 internship recruiting is already moving FAST. don’t let it catch you off guard. I remember the stress of last season. so many roles, so much noise, and advice that rarely works in real life. So here are the exact strategies and tools I used to survive (and thrive) during recruiting: 1. Apply ASAP like, within HOURS of postings. I set up calendar reminders for application drops. Why? Because roles at top companies fill up fast and early birds really do get the interview. - intern-list from Jobright.ai: This is my favorite all-in-one board for finding open roles, sortable by role. intern-list.com - Internships Repo from Simplify : Updated daily by students. Refresh this religiously for the latest drops: https://lnkd.in/guntbVEt 2. Automate the busywork let tech do the heavy lifting. Simplify automatically fills out internship applications to save hours and cut down on mistakes. Seriously, I wouldn’t apply without it. simplify.jobs 3. Method to find the freshest postings. Go to LinkedIn, search for your desired role, filter by "Date Posted." Now, in the URL, change 86400 (last 24 hours) to 7200 (last 2 hours). This shows only just-posted jobs. Sounds small, but I landed interviews this way that most people missed entirely. 4. Don't ignore the behavioral Exponent & Interview Prepper Exponent: Role-specific question banks for behavioral and technical interviews, especially for PM/SWE. Insanely useful for real interview prep. https://lnkd.in/gnzGVf2V Interview Prepper: An all-in-one platform for personalized interview plans, company guides, daily prep games, and a new AI coding evaluator. I made this so people wouldn’t have to piece together 50 different resources. now everything’s in one spot. www.interviewprepper.co 5. Track everything don’t let any opportunity slip. After every application, I recorded: company, date, position, what I sent, and when to follow up. Tracking helped me follow up at the right times and see what actually worked for me. 💡REMEMBER: Recruiting is tough and rejection is normal, but you only need one yes. If you have questions or need help starting out, drop a comment or DM me. I’ll respond to every single one. You’ve got this. Don’t let the early crowd run laps around you. lock in, prep smart, and shoot your shot.

Still looking for a summer internship? This past semester, I decided I wanted a part-time internship just one week before the spring semester began. With fewer than 15 applications, I landed 3 interviews and received 2 offers. Here is how I did it. 1. I focused on startups and on-campus jobs  🔹 Startups hire year-round  🔹 They have flexible timelines and quicker interview processes  🔹 They often value skills over experience, perfect if you’re just starting out 2. I mainly used Handshake, strategically  🔹 Filter for roles posted within the last 3 days, and prioritize ones you’re a strong fit for  🔹 If it’s older but aligns well with your background, apply anyway, they might consider you for another similar role  🔹 After applying, go to the job posting, click on the company name, scroll to the People section, and message someone who was recently active 💡 𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘱, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 💬 Keep it short (3–4 sentences):  → Introduce yourself and share why you’re interested  → Highlight how you’re a strong match (use keywords from the job description)  If it helps, I’m happy to share an example of a message I sent. 3. I explored nonprofits and local organizations  You can use Handshake for this too:  🔎 Go to the Employers tab  📍 Filter by location, industry, and company size  🏠 Look for organizations near your hometown If one stands out:  🔹 Check their website for contact info and send a cold email  🔹 Or find someone on LinkedIn and message them directly A short, personalized message can go a long way, even if they’re not actively hiring. This worked for me, even on a late timeline, and I hope it helps someone else who’s still searching! Good Luck! 📷 Just me, Donald, and Goofy casually starting the summer off right. ✨

I started applying for Summer internships as early as October last year. In between these months, I applied to over 70 communication-related roles, did 3 interviews, and received innumerable rejection emails, before I finally got offers in April. One major lesson I learned during my internship-hunting phase was this. Never focus your efforts on one platform. Over 90% of the jobs I applied to were from LinkedIn. It's my comfort zone and I didn't want to leave it just yet. Although I got two interviews from there, the two offers I eventually got were from Handshake and a referral. Interestingly, my other classmates got similar opportunities from Handshake and referrals as well. Why do you think both avenues have more success rates? I believe it's the personalized touch. Handshake is dedicated to students and the employers are actively on the platform looking for students from your school. Similarly, a referral means someone put in a good word for you, thereby putting you directly in the face of your potential employer. While you must not abandon LinkedIn, Indeed, and other job-searching sites - I believe a sure way of putting your application ahead of others is to find alternative application strategies that move you closer to the employer. Who is one person that you think could put in a good word for you? Reach out to them. What local platforms do you use in your locality, school, state, or country? Use them. What is one thing that most applicants don't do? Do it. This could mean reaching out to the HR of the company you're applying to or writing a cover letter (I don't like this one). Oftentimes we might be limiting our chances of success because we are targeting the right things the wrong way. Do things differently.