Ahh, summer – sweet and bright summer. The season of sunshine, windy beaches, and your dream internship is finally here.

While most of the companies are open to hiring interns year round, it is safe to say that some of the best companies open slots for interns during summer. Summer internships are usually less challenging compared to the year-around ones. You do not have to visit the college, no more lengthy assignment writing, training for a couple of months and the best part, you can stay with your parents and work simultaneously.

There are 100s of website flooded with blogs and videos on basic interview etiquettes to land a dream internship. Editing your resume, dressing well, and sending thank you notes are good manners, but there is a lot more one has to take care off.

Unlike jobs, internships are fairly easy to latch on to- why would someone even think of letting go of a free resource? Although working as a free resource is less motivating, there are advantages as well. Some unpaid internships are a golden ticket to bright years ahead and all you need to do is find them.

So how do candidates working as an intern at large corporations get the internship?  What makes them special? Well, it takes a lot and we will discuss it all here.

Unlimited research

Let me make this clear – spending 20-30 minutes on the web and scrolling through the pages of a company’s website is not what we call research. Spending 20 minutes on research is just like looking at the cover page of a book.

It is no rocket science to understand that the first question any company may throw at an interviewee is, “How much do you know about us?” and if you don’t have an answer to this question, you know the rest.

Research is not just studying the company and the products it deals in, but studying the whole business itself. From where they started to where they are now, how well they are performing in the stock market, what makes them different from their competitors, and what their customers think about them.

These questions are what an interviewer will want you to speak on. It is your opinion about a company that matters the most, even if it is negative. Don’t feel shy and tell them what you think. This is one way to get noticed.

How Well you Know a Product

There will be an uneven silence in the room if you tell the interviewer that you are unfamiliar with the product, website, or anything they deal in. It sounds like an engineer having no knowledge of CDR writing.

For example, it is not necessary for you to use Netflix regularly if you want to work for Netflix but having adequate knowledge about Netflix is required.

Companies look for students who have been using their product or have a detailed knowledge of the company. Such students will know what a particular product lacks and how the product can be innovated, thus making the product more popular among the mass.

The most successful answer to the question “why you want to work as an intern at Facebook?” is not because I love to scroll through the news feed on Facebook, but the things you would really like to change about Facebook. Such an answer is worth an applause.

The Best Choice

In the course of researching your desired business. company’s products, and the internship you want, you have to align what you have with what they have or what they want.

Confusing? Here is a simple way to understand this:

Once you know what you have to offer, you can share this experience with the interviewer. Just let them know what you have done, the qualities you possess, how you upgraded yourself with time, etc. During the application process, your job is to illustrate what you can do for the company and why you are undoubtedly the best choice.

Prepare an answer to a question like “what makes you stand out?” The interviewer knows that answering such questions is not a piece of cake and will judge you based on the words you use to answer such questions. Make sure you believe in your qualities and strengths before anything else.

Passion will lead you to success

Passion is one thing that makes you stand out. To an extent, your passion and drive for something will lead you to the final goal. But how can you show an interviewer that you are passionate about the such? You need to work for it.

Passion is when you work hard to achieve something even if you are not paid for it. You grind to develop and hone your professional skills and this makes you different. An engineer who builds tools in his spare time is a passionate engineer rather than someone who is busy procrastinating.

Now you may ask how to highlight this in my resume?

The world is changing and mere good grades are not enough. You will have to describe how passionate you are and there are different ways to do this. Always highlight your side projects and work experience in your resume. It can be anything you did which in some way or the other can benefit the company you are interviewing at. A resume with nothing but coursework is not going to get picked up. So this summer break, lose the stress, get gorgeously tanned, and craft your way to the internship you have always dreamed about. Remember, it only takes 4 steps to rise high.