Internship Strategies and
Resources
Joann Ordille
Julie S. Weber
Avaya Labs Research
University of Michigan
joann@avaya.com
weberjs@umich.edu
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About Joann Ordille
• Education
– BA, Applied Mathematics and Philosophy, The George Washington University
• Learned about computer science as an application of mathematics
– MA, History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh
– MS and PhD, Computer Science, University of Wisconsin
• Key: Computer Science
– is infinitely interesting
– provides unparalleled opportunities
• PhD Employment
– AT&T Bell Labs  Lucent Bell Labs  Avaya Labs Research
• Life
– Travel: Europe, Asia, Australia, North and South America
– Sport: long distance road cycling, scuba diving, downhill and cross-country
skiing, figure skating, open wheel auto racing (see and hear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNuy8-ZT2zk)
– Restore antique houses
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About Julie Weber:
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•
•
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BA in Math & CS, Wellesley College, 2003
MS in CS from Tufts University, 2004
PhD Candidate @ Univ. of Michigan, 3rd Year
Internships:
– MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Summer 2003 - Spring 2004
– Google NYC, Summer 2006
– SRI International, Summer 2007 (in the works)
•
Why a PhD?
– Inspiring professors, teaching
•
Hobbies:
– Soccer, ultimate frisbee
– Travel
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Outline
• Internship goals
• Internships, step by step
• Strategies for succeeding in your internship
• Resources for finding an internship
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About Julie Weber:
•
•
•
•
BA in Math & CS, Wellesley College, 2003
MS in CS from Tufts University, 2004
PhD Candidate @ Univ. of Michigan, 3rd Year
Internships:
– MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Summer 2003 - Spring 2004
– Google NYC, Summer 2006
– SRI International, Summer 2007 (in the works)
•
Why a PhD?
– Inspiring professors, teaching
•
Hobbies:
– Soccer, ultimate frisbee
– Travel
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Internship goals
• Master Students and PhD students have overlapping
but different goals in pursuing internships affecting:
– Where you apply
– The place with the best fit
– What you accomplish
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Establishing goals in seeking an internship
for a Masters student
• Possible goals
– Obtaining marketable experience
– Expanding knowledge and contacts
– Having fun
– Making money
• Things to target
– Preferred subfield, e.g. communications, web applications,
database applications
– Preferred programming environment, e.g. java
– Areas forming an experience base for later full-time
applications
• Wider scope of possibilities than PhD internships
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Establishing goals in seeking an internship
for a PhD student
• Possible goals
– Working with an expert in your area
– Rounding out experts advising you on your dissertation
– Experiencing different research environments
– Expanding knowledge and contacts
– Having fun and making money
• Things to target
– Preferred research subfield, e.g. networking, testing, programming
languages
– Preferred working environment, e.g. government lab, communications
company, software company
– Preferred internship outcome: program, paper
– Areas providing credentials for later research positions
• Consult with your research advisor
• Could be a Masters internship early in your academic work
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Internships, Step by Step
• Preparing for the internship experience
• Finding the right internship opportunity
• Making contacts
• Applying
• Interviewing
• Choosing the best internship for you
• Interning!
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Preparing for the Internship Experience
• Think about your resume/CV
– How best to present yourself
• Gain good rapport with potential references
• Practice answering technical questions
– Review algorithms & data structures
– Talking it out, asking informed questions
• Sign up for mock interviews
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Finding the Right Internship Experience
• Where are the best jobs?
• Recommendations/suggestions from
advisor/cohort/alumni
• Departmental postings
• Career fair
• Other events
• Online resources
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Making contacts
• Potential contacts
– Group leader for desired project
– University alumni
– Other acquaintances
• How to move forward with a contact
– Express interest in his/her project
– Ask about internship opportunities and potential
projects
– Ask for tips for applying
– Discuss your research
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Applying for an Internship
• Deadline: usually in early February
• Procure good references, tell them why you’re pursuing an
internship
• Have resume/CV critiqued by:
– Career center
– Advisor/peers
• Updated website
– Publications/projects
• Prepare materials for on-site visit
– Presentation/demo
– Questions to ask current interns and/or employees
• Be sure to follow up! *
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Interviewing
• Relax!
• Talk it out
– Logical thinking/problem solving
– Coding
• Ask informed questions
• Relax!
• Be yourself
– Show motivation and interest
– General personality fit
• Interview them
– Ask about a current project & potential intern projects
• Follow up!
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Choosing the Right Internship for You
• Type of work
• Atmosphere
• People
– Resources
– Cohort
• Project prospects
• Location
• Negotiation
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On the Job!
• “Think of your internship as an extended job
interview”
• Be professional
• Procure good contacts
• Make sure you’re doing the work you hoped to do
– What are you learning?
• Distinguish yourself
• Ask for feedback after the internship
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On the Job!
• MIT Lincoln Laboratory vs. Google
– The feel of a research lab
– The feel of Google
– Mentoring
– Projects
– People
• Diversity (gender, age, activity level)
• Proximity
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Takeaway Message
• Prepare early
• Practice for interviews
– Talking through problems is key
– Ask questions
• Relax during interviews and be yourself
• Follow up
• Treat the internship as an extended job interview
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Strategies for success at your internship
•
•
•
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Work independently
Show initiative
Discuss your ideas
Ask for help
Interact with the entire team
Find out (or agree with your mentor/supervisor) early
on what the final requirements are:
– Working program?
– Talk?
– Paper?
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Strategies for success (continued)
• Time is short! You typically have only 10-12 weeks.
– Plan your project in phases with intermediate
checkpoints
• Each checkpoint should have some deliverable such as a survey
of the area, an analysis, a design, a program
• Remember that if you have to give a final talk that will take up
your last week
– If you fall behind on an intermediate checkpoint, you
need to reevaluate your plan with your
supervisor/mentor
• Can something be shortened or left out?
– If you run out of time for an aggressive timeline, the
result of your project will be your intermediate
deliverable (but you will have a result to show!)
• Especially important to have your mentor agree to your plan if your
mentor is “busy.”
20
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Strategies for success (continued)
• Meet as many people as you can
– Ask to speak with other researchers/staff in your area of
interest (1 person for 1 hour each week?)
– Attend talks, meetings and other opportunities to
network
• Continue your relationship with your mentor/supervisor
after completing your internship
– External mentor to help you with concerns in graduate
school
– Talk at conferences
– Help with eventual job search and references
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Meeting people (networking) at your
internship
• Meeting, lunch, social events, talks, hallway conversations
• Identify people of interest in the organization and ask to spend an hour
discussing their work and career options
– Prepare a set of questions such as:
• What’s your current project? How did it start? How is it organized
(how many people, how they work together, who leads, etc.)?
• If this is researcher, use your knowledge of the area or read one of
her/his papers as background and plan to discuss the area in general.
• If you are looking for a targeting a particular kind of job in the future
that this person knows about, you might ask:
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–
–
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What education and experience are needed?
What do the jobs normally include?
What is the typical entry level job for a masters student (or PhD student)?
What is the career development path?
• I think any full-time person would take time for student if at all possible, so
take advantage of that to learn more about the field and make contacts.
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Resources
• ACM Internship Listings
–
http://www.acm.org/crossroads/resources/internships.html
• Research Labs with Participants at this Cohort (additional options for Masters Internships are
noted)
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AT&T – personal contact best for PhD Internships
• http://research.att.com/ (select Join Us)
Avaya Labs – personal contact only application route for PhD Internships
• http://avaya.com/ (select Avaya Lab on bottom bar, then Locations and Careers)
• Masters: http://avaya.com/ (select Careers on bottom bar)
Google
• http://www.google.com/jobs/intern.html
IBM – personal contact best for PhD Internships
• http://www.research.ibm.com/about/career.shtml (Co-op and summer on right)
• Masters: http://www.ibm.com/ (select Jobs at IBM, then Country, then University)
Microsoft
• http://research.microsoft.com/ (select Careers, then Internships)
• See also http://labs.live.com/
• Masters: http://members.microsoft.com/careers/default.mspx (select Internships)
Sandia National Labs
• http://education.ca.sandia.gov/ (select Internship tab, for California positions)
• http://www.sandia.gov/ (select Students, then Student Internship Programs, for New Mexico)
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Additional Research Labs (Industry)
•
Additional options for Masters internships at the companies are also provided after “Masters:”
•
Accenture
–
http://www.accenture.com/Global/Services/Accenture_Technology_Labs/default.htm
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Not sure if they have research oriented internships. Use the contact on the above link to ask.
•
– Masters: http://www.accenture.com/ (Click on Careers, Locations, United States, Students)
Alcatel-Lucent (home of Bell Labs)
– http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/ (select Careers at the bottom, then Opportunities for Students)
– PhD opportunities are under Research Partner
– Masters: additional opportunities listed in same location
D. E. Shaw http://www.deshaw.com/JobOpportunities.html
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eBay (new research lab: http://innovation.ebay.com/research.cfm)
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•
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http://www.ebaycareers.com/university/internship.html (“research” in the keyword and find R&D listing)
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Masters: search all internships
France Telcom (the Orange Group)
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http://www.francetelecom.com/en/group/recruitment/student_section/links/
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(See also http://www.francetelecom.com/en/group/rd/activities/vision/implantations/boston.html,
http://www.francetelecom.com/en/group/rd/activities/vision/implantations/san_francisco.html )
Fuji Xerox
–
http://fxpal.com/ (Select About Us, then Employment, then Internships)
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Additional Research Labs (Industry)
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Fujitsu Labs
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http://www.fujitsu.com/us/ (select R&D, then link under Work for Us, can also browse by
country)
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Masters: http://www.fujitsu.com/ (browse the country of interest)
GE Labs
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http://ge.com/research/ (select Careers, then Campus Connection, then Student Opportunities)
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Masters: http://ge.com/ (select For Students, then Internships and Co-ops)
Genentech
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http://www.gene.com/gene/careers/index.jsp (select Internships)
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http://www.hpl.hp.com/ (select Careers@HP Labs)
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Masters: http://hp.com/ (select Jobs, then Students and Graduates, currently link is bad)
HP
Intel
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Mitsubishi
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http://www.merl.com/ (select Employment)
NEC
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http://intel.com/ (select Technology and Research but no explicit internship application info)
http://intel.com/ (select Jobs on the bottom bar, then Student Center)
http://www.nec-labs.com/careers/internship.shtml
Masters: http://nec.com/ (select Jobs)
Nvidia
– http://www.nvidia.com/page/university_relations.html
– Not clear that they have a research lab, but they
do sponsor fellowshipsAvaya
and
fund faculty.
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Additional Research Labs (Industry)
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Nokia
– http://research.nokia.com/ (Follow the link for Careers)
– Masters: http://www.nokia.com/careers
Siemens
– http://www.siemens.com/ (Search for Research and Development, search for Internships)
Sun
– http://research.sun.com/ (select Internships)
– Masters: http://www.sun.com/corp_emp/zone/internships.html
Xerox
– http://www.parc.xerox.com/ (Select Contact Us, Employment, Interships)
– Masters: http://xerox.com/ (Select Careers on bottom bar, then University)
Yahoo
– http://research.yahoo.com/data_and_code (select Summer Interns)
– http://careers.yahoo.com/university.html (select Interns)
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Additional Research Labs (Government)
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Argonne National Lab (ARL)
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Brookhaven National Lab
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http://www.training.nih.gov/student/sip/
Institute for Defense Analyses
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http://www.nrl.navy.mil/ (select Contact NRL, then Human Resources)
Unclear how to find an internship. Call HR and ask.
National Institutes of Health
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http://www.arl.army.mil/ (select Outreach Programs, then Internship Co-ops)
US Naval Research Lab (NRL)
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http://www.pnl.gov/ (select Jobs, then Science and Engineering Education Programs)
US Army Research Lab (ARL)
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http://www.ornl.gov/ (select Jobs, browse under Student/Faculty Opportunities)
Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNL)
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http://www.llnl.gov/llnl/education/ (select Undergraduate/Graduate Opportunities)
Oakridge National Lab (ORNL)
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http://www.lbl.gov/ (select Education Outreach, then Student Opportunities)
Lawrence Livermore National Lab
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http://www.bnl.gov/education/ (select Education on the left, then Students)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBL)
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http://www.anl.gov/ (select Careers, then Educational Programs)
http://www.ida.org/ (select Careers, then Graduate Students, then Interns)
Inquire early (before deadline), because you will need to obtain a security clearance
Also inquire about any opportunities in related organizations
Note: Fermi National Lab, Los Alamos National Lab, and National Renewable Energy Lab emphasize physical
sciences but may take interns in some specialized subfields of computer science.
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Additional Research Labs (Non-profits)
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MIT Lincoln Lab
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http://www.ll.mit.edu/ (Select Careers, then Summer Programs)
Mitre
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http://www.mitre.org/work/ird.html (select Employment, then Student Opportunities)
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Masters: http://www.mitre.org/ (select Employment, then Student Opportunities – same as the above)
SRI
–
http://www.sri.com/ (select Careers, then Students)
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Other Resources
• Graduate School Information brochure and other
information:
http://www.cra.org/highlights/student.html
• How to succeed in graduate school:
http://www.acm.org/crossroads/xrds1-2/advice1.html
http://www.acm.org/crossroads/xrds1-3/advice2.html
• Fellowships (dated but provides useful leads)
http://cag.csail.mit.edu/~amy/fellowships.html
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Things to Add Next Year
• Sample interview questions and that they are avaiable
on the Internet
• Add question role playing
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