Ways to Gain Experience Without Internships

Students are asking me: “𝐀𝐦 𝐈 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫?” ❌ No, of course not. Industry experience is one of the most valuable things you can put on your resume but you can get creative with how you get that experience. Some of the best opportunities aren’t posted — they’re shared. Here’s how to make real progress without a formal internship: ⸻ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐔𝐩 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 ⭐️ Check Eventbrite + Meetup — connect with local professionals, even for funzies ⭐️ Big names recruit heavily at SWE, SHPE, NSBE — I got my Apple internship through SWE ⭐️ Niche events: SF Tech Week, Afrotech, Latinx in Tech, Grace Hopper, MLH Hackathons, etc. Not-so-secret tip: These events let you upload your resume to conference-specific databases, and many secure next-day interviews/offers from this. ⸻ 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐬 ⭐️ Look into Capital One’s Early ID, Google STEP, Goldman Sachs Insights, Facebook University, etc ⭐️ Campus ambassadorships — Microsoft, Notion, Adobe, etc → These often lead to referrals, experience, and paid gigs ⸻ 𝐒𝐚𝐲 𝐘𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 — 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 ⭐️ Research with a professor (just ask!) ⭐️ Helping a startup on a short-term project ⭐️ Freelance or launch your own product ⸻ 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭-𝐃𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 — warm connections ⭐️ Professors: Many are ex-industry professionals — they have connections to companies or even graduated students in the workplace ⭐️ Alumni: Find grads from your school, ask about their path — then ask about opportunities ⭐️ Local companies & startups: Easier access, faster timelines ⸻ 5️⃣ 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐎𝐰𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬 — 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟 If you’re not learning 𝘰𝘯 the job, treat learning 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 a job. ⭐️ Courses: Coursera, edX, AWS (Google IT, IBM Data Science, Meta Front-End) ⭐️ Certs: CAPM, Lean Six Sigma, Scrum Master ⭐️ Projects: Scrimba, Frontend Mentor, GitHub -> show, don’t just tell Highlight “Projects” section on your resume + “Featured Posts” on LinkedIn ⸻ 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 — 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 ⭐️ LinkedIn | WayUp | Handshake | Jobright AI | Simplify New roles drop daily. Don’t count yourself out early. ⸻ 6️⃣ 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝. ⭐️ Read: 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘈𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘏𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘴, 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘞𝘪𝘯 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 — soft skills get you hired. ⭐️ Rest: Take that trip. You’ll never have this kind of freedom once PTO kicks in. Protect your energy — it’s a long game. I never liked reading myself, but committing to 1 book this year, small wins :) === 🔁: Repost to your network if you found this useful or tag a friend ➕ Follow me: Anna Chen for weekly career tips and job postings #NoInternshipNoProblem #EarlyCareer #NetworkingTips #UndergradOpportunities #TipsIWishIKnewEarlier

On Tuesday, I talked about getting trapped in the "experience paradox" for wildlife careers 🦉🌿—this seemingly endless cycle 🔄 where you need experience to get a job, but can’t get experience because you can’t get a job. What breaks this cycle? Here are my top tips: 👉 Network with your existing network: Are you following up with people you already know? 🤝 I talked about first identifying the experience you DO need, which may include hidden experiences 🔍. Are you asking about those kinds of opportunities, whether it be with them or someone they know? More importantly, are you offering up your services for the things that they/others need help with? This means volunteering 🙌, but you DON’T have to commit your life to it. You can help out for several hours per week. ✉️ Cold emailing: Are you networking with people you don’t know? Are you introducing yourself, explaining your intention, your credentials, and asking how you can help out? My students and podcast guests are proof that this works! ✅ LinkedIn is a great place to do this! 🔗 🎤 Networking in person with people you don’t know: You might be thinking… "I don’t have the money to attend professional meetings or conferences." That’s okay! You don’t have to! Networking can happen right where you are 🌎. Here are local events where you can network with wildlife professionals, most of which are free: 📚 University seminars (often open to the public) 🦁 Talks at zoos and museums (our museum had these often!) 🏞️ One-off volunteer opportunities put on by your town, state wildlife agency, or local nonprofit (things like river clean-ups, removing invasive species, etc.) 📢 Regional or state professional conferences (check your society’s state chapter) 🖥️ Attending virtual webinars by societies and organizations—this is NOT in person, but it lends an easy opening to cold contact people 🔬 Citizen/community science: This one is one of my favorites! ❤️ Citizen science is REAL research and many projects you can do ANYWHERE. Projects like eBird, FrogWatch, Budburst, and more count as experience that you can put on your resume when you do it in a CONSISTENT and scientific way 📑. Use scistarter.org to find one. 🎨 Creating your own experience: Do you want to work in science communication? Build your own YouTube channel 📺 or social media following 📱. Learn how to use Canva and create beautiful, compelling graphics that tell a story. Need fundraising experience? 💰 Run a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for a local nonprofit. Be creative and think outside the box! 📄 Cold job applications: This one is new to me, and there’s evidence it works in other scientific fields. Try sending an application to an organization when no job is posted. Again, offer your services and show how you are an ideal fit for the organization you are applying to—how you will help them complete their mission 🌎 If you don’t know how to do these things, let’s connect! 🔗 I have lots of resources for you. Let’s go! 🚀🔥

Didn’t get an internship this summer? Read this. I never had one. Still made to Google. But If I could go back, I would do this... First off, forget the noise. You’re not cooked. You don’t need to change majors. You’re fine. The internship path is just one way. It’s not the only way. 1️⃣ 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Stop sending cold DMs asking for referrals. Actually read their posts. Find common ground. Ask real questions. Share insights. The goal isn’t just to get one random referral. It’s to build relationships that last. Because when you know someone well, they’re more likely to:  • Refer you confidently (can turn a referral from a maybe to a very high chance of an interview)  • Share new roles as they move to new companies  • Remember your name when opportunities come up One good connection can open doors for years. 2️⃣ 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 Forget “To-Do” lists and cookie-cutter clones. Build things that matter. Here’s a framework: - List your hobbies - Write down what frustrates you about them - Find a pain point - Build a project to solve it; even if you don't finish the project, try When you’re actually excited about the problem, you learn faster, dig deeper. 3️⃣ 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲, 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 I didn’t follow the traditional path. No CS degree. No shiny internships. But I had two things locked down:  • I knew exactly where I was starting from  • I knew exactly where I wanted to go Most people just throw themselves into the grind without knowing the game. You can’t break the rules if you don’t know what they are. 4️⃣ 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 (𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂) I don’t care if it’s:  • Wake up at 11 AM  • Play games from 2–4 PM  • Code from 11 PM–2 AM Just pick your schedule and stick to it. Consistency is worth more than perfection. 5️⃣ 𝗟𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲... 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝘄. I’m a fan of the slow burn of LeetCode  • 1 - 2 problems a day.  • Study by topic, not # completed  • No cramming three weeks before interviews You don’t have to grind 8 hours a day, you just have to keep moving forward. 6️⃣ 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝘁 Tech internships are catching up to banking, you’re applying more than a year out.  • Set Google Alerts for deadlines. Don't miss them.  • If you can get a referral, do it. If not, still apply.  • It’s not about perfection. It’s about consistency. If you didn’t land an internship, it’s not game over. It’s game on. 💡 Save, repost, and share with someone who needs this.Because missing out on an internship doesn’t mean missing out on your future. You’ve got three months. Build. Learn. Connect. If you need accountability, comment "Locked In" below and I’ll reach out weekly to check in. Or shoot me a DM if you want to keep it private, I get it. That was me back then, which is exactly why I’m sharing this. Let’s make the next three months count.

“How can I get work experience without work experience?” This is a catch-22 that some students and recent graduates often encounter as they navigate their early career journeys. ⭐ Here are a few ways I got around it and some things I recommend: 1️⃣ Take free certifications, courses, fellowships, and boot camps There are so many online certifications and courses for technical and nontechnical industries—a few are free, too! When I lacked experience, I took a few of these to sharpen my skills, and I included them on my resume and LinkedIn. Some platforms I recommend include Acadium (marketing courses), LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, Skillshare, Grow with Google, Verizon Skill Forward (technical courses), and of course, YouTube University. Bonus: Free fellowships and boot camp programs are great too! A few I recommend are COOP, Colorwave, CodePath, Kode With Klossy, Springboard and CareerFoundry - ProFellow is a great website for finding fellowships. 2️⃣ Apply for professional development programs These programs are usually for those who don’t have much work experience and partner with Fortune 500 companies for program support and to hire program alumni. In addition to internships, they provide mentorship, career development workshops, and a robust alumni network. Some programs I recommend include MLT Career Prep, INROADS, The LAGRANT Foundation, and SHPEP (pre med/health). 🎯 You can find a list of programs here: https://lnkd.in/gzrai8Bn 3️⃣ Complete micro-internships or externships These programs are usually less than 4 weeks, project based, sometimes paid, and a great way to beef up your resume by doing projects with cool brands. You can find opportunities like these on platforms such as Parker Dewey, Extern, and Forage 4️⃣ Do freelance work When I started my marketing career, I created my own agency where I worked with small-owned businesses. This helped me stand out in my interviews and further grow my portfolio. Create the work experiences you need to get the job you want. 5️⃣ Hyped up my extracurriculars and passion projects In college, I was heavily involved in my sorority and did a lot of work in recruitment and managing our digital branding. Throughout my resume, I emphasized my wins using Google’s XYZ format to highlight my leadership efforts and show that I was a well-rounded candidate. I also ran a college & lifestyle blog which helped me grow in my marketing, graphic design, and communications skill set. By having it listed in my resume as work experience, it was always a hot topic in my interviews Don’t be afraid to share on your resume who you are outside of work because the lessons you learn in those experiences can translate into transferable skills for the workplace. 💌 and while you're at it, check out my YouTube video to help you find some of these opportunities: https://lnkd.in/gm3PB-ae #earlycareer #internships #jobhunting #entryleveljobs

🚨 Experience ≠ Just Big-Name Internships 🚨 Over the past few weeks, I’ve been dropping videos about how to get work experience through non-traditional avenues and I wanted to do a quick wrap up post. I get tons of messages from students who want to gain experience before graduating but feel stuck because they haven’t landed an internship at a huge company. But let me tell you something: You don’t need a Fortune 500 logo on your resume to build real skills. Here are four alternative ways to gain experience that can set you apart: 1️⃣ Create Your Own Projects or Mocks What better way to showcase your skills than by building something from scratch? (You can be your own lil Martha Stewart 😉) A personal website, a mock marketing campaign, a coding project, an insightful blog series—self-initiated projects show creativity and initiative. 📌 Bonus: These can go on your portfolio, resume, or LinkedIn to impress potential employers! I created a small business from scratch during the pandemic, and not only did I learn business operations, but it became a MAJOR talking point in interviews. 2️⃣ Work with a Small Business Small businesses need extra hands, and they offer hands-on experience you might not get at a large company. You could help with social media, marketing, operations, customer service, and more—all while directly impacting a business’s success. 📌 Plus, small businesses often give you more responsibility than traditional internships. #WinWin 3️⃣ Volunteer for a Nonprofit Nonprofits and community initiatives are always looking for extra help in areas like: ✔ Event planning ✔ Grant writing ✔ Social media management ✔ Mentorship and tutoring 📌 Employers love to see community involvement, and volunteering helps you develop real-world skills while making a positive impact. 4️⃣ Check for Opportunities at Your University Universities are full of hidden gems. 💎 💡 Research assistant roles 💡 Student-run organizations 💡 Leadership positions 💡 On-campus jobs & internships 📌 Pro tip: Check your career center for open roles—many students overlook these opportunities! At the end of the day, experience comes in many forms. It’s not about where you work—it’s about what you learn and how you apply it. Start small, stay consistent, and opportunities will come. ✨ #earlycareer #workexperience

Trying to get experience in a new field? Stop taking boring courses and certifications. Instead, try the same 3 steps that worked for my client: This client was trying to break into data analytics. Building new experience used to be hard for him. He was spending hours slogging through coding challenges and books with no real relevance to his interests. Then we shifted his perspective! In our first session, I asked him what he liked to do for fun. Turns out, he’s an avid sports fan (Warriors, 49ers, and college bball to be exact). I challenged him to think about how he could pair up his skill building within the realm of the sports he loved. Then I showed him a few examples… 1. u/ThatFantasyNameGuy from Reddit scraped Yahoo for all of their fantasy football team names. Then he turned them into a search engine (fantasynameresearch[.]com) where other fantasy footballers could search for team names based on players. 2. u/Sparty27 on Reddit used his chops to build AlgeBracket, a tool that lets you create a bracket for the NCAA basketball tournament based on the stats you think are important. 3. I had him go to r/DataIsBeautiful on Reddit and sort by Top Post of All Time to see all of the other creative ways he could use his new data skills in a fun and creative way. Now my client has no problem cranking out hours of analytics practice. And he’s having a blast doing it! Best of all, his “experience” leads to projects that he can share on LinkedIn, in his portfolio, and — yes — on Reddit. Building experience is hard work, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. The more fun you make it, the more likely you are to succeed. You just have to get creative!

I landed my first internship at a Fortune 100 with NO prior work experience. Everyone has to start somewhere, but what the #&%@ do you put on a resume when you have no work experience? 😂 Here's what I did & how you can replicate it ⬇️ Getting the first internship [or first job] is, in my opinion, one of the hardest you'll ever do in your career. It's a perpetual "chicken before the egg" problem ~ how do you get experience if everyone requires prior experience? The reality that no one talks about is that you can't apply to a role with a blank/empty resume, so you have to get *some* form of experience. This is the step that people often skip over: resume *building*. Here are three areas you can build your resume in, all of which I have done: 🛠️ Project experience -- projects are the EASIEST way to gain experience since you don't need anyone's permission, approval, or supervision to do it. Here are some example projects for different career paths ~ mobile & web apps (software engineering), investment memo or thesis (venture capital), product prototype/design, and strategy (product management). 🛠️ Competition experience -- want to test your abilities under pressure? And potentially win awards & cash prizes? Enter competitions! I won $12K+ from hackathons (SWE/PM), engineering pitch competitions (ENGR/Biz), startup pitch competitions (PM/Biz) and case competitions (Consulting). 🛠️ Work *Lite* experience -- fellowships, externships, micro-internships, etc. Basically, any form of "relevant" experience. These types of opportunities typically have less competition, can be slightly easier to attain, and don't have the same type of requirements/requisites as internships and full-time roles. You have to start somewhere; not only will these experiences fill your resume, but they'll also give you more confidence in the job search! Once you've built your resume, write it like a pro using these guidelines: ✅ Use the Google XYZ method ~ this is like the golden rule for resumes, and it goes, "Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]." ✅ Use your resume to TELL A STORY ~ use descriptive adjectives, strong verbs, and consistent bullet points to create a cohesive story that makes you look like THE perfect candidate for the job. ✅ Use an ATS-friendly format ~ this isn't too difficult, but it's a HUGE stumbling block for applicants. If your resume can't be read by an ATS, you will likely get auto-rejected. 😳 🧠 Want to avoid the mistakes I made & see THE resume that got me my first internship at an F100 with NO work experience? Comment your email & I'll send a copy straight to your inbox! 📥 #internships #earlycareer #newgrad #summerinternship

Freshman year of college, I didn’t have a fancy corporate internship—but I still landed Goldman Sachs on my first try. Here's a guide + resources for summer How did i build experience? I tapped into my local community and built experience through unpaid opportunities (later funded by USC). If you’re still figuring out your summer plans, here’s a quick guide to help you build experience and set yourself up for success in the fall: Summer Game Plan: 1️⃣ Volunteer or community-based projects – Create real impact locally. 2️⃣ Coffee chats (2–3x/week) – Expand your network and learn from others. 3️⃣ Personal projects – Build your portfolio, code, write, or design. Resources to Get Started 👇 Tech + APM Roles: 📍 APM Role Database: apmlist.com 📍 Startup Job Board: builtin.com Consulting Prep: 📍 Consulting Bootcamp by Annie X.: anniexie.webflow.io 📍 Case Study Practice Podcast: Spotify - Strategy Simplified 🌟 Don’t wait for the opportunity—create it. You don’t need a name-brand internship to start building your story. #TunSynergy

If a company won’t hire because you don’t have the experience, how can you get the experience if you can’t get a job in the first place? Create a faux company. No, it’s not what you think. Don’t file fraudulent paperwork and open fake bank accounts. Make up fake data. Imagine you’re running a startup. Consider what you’d do if you a contestant on Shark Tank. This is the advice I gave to a MBA graduate who wasn’t getting favorable results from her interviews. She had to think about what the future of the future business looks like, coming up with assumptions about: Sales Products Customers Margins Hiring And more. Experiences and critical thinking can grow through our own imaginations. This young woman did and then landed into a long-term rotation at a Fortune 500 financial leadership development program. She still works for the company many years later. —————————— The appropriate interview question isn’t: “how did you solve this problem you faced in your past?” The question should be: “how would you solve this problem if it arose in the future?” We mustn’t hire finance people solely based upon track records. And while past performance can be an indication of future behavior, we can’t solve future problems with the same level of awareness that created them. We hire people based upon their critical thinking, reasoning skills and ability to meet the challenges where they are. Create case studies of our own can fill a void when experience doesn’t come through other means.

You don’t need an interview to prove your skills. Not getting interviews is frustrating. I know. It feels like the only chance to show companies what you’re capable of. But you don’t have to wait. You can market your skills now. Every job is different but these 5 options were the top ways how I placed 22 clients in 2024: 1, Create and share content: • Post your expertise online. • Share project breakdowns, lessons learned, or solutions to industry problems. 2, Pitch a company project: • Research a company, solve a small problem for them, and send it to a hiring manager. • Show how you’d add value. 3, Build a portfolio: • Use GitHub, a personal site, or even LinkedIn to showcase your work. • Employers love seeing real-world examples. 4, Request informational interviews: • These are low-pressure ways to learn about a company. • And you can casually present your skills. 5, Cold outreach: • Send tailored messages. • Attach a project or analysis related to the company,   it’s bold but effective. Doesn't matter which one you choose, pick one, do it for 30-90 days and you'll get good at it. You don’t need permission to showcase your skills. Be your own advocate. If you need help with showcasing your skills, I’m happy to support you (if you’re serious about your career). Just send me a message and we’ll figure out the rest. Sharing is caring ♻️