This is a guest post by Kim Nguyen for Student Stories.
I still remember everything as if it were yesterday.
It was finally summer after a semester of school. I had transferred from a junior college to a university, and was determined to find an internship. I knew the first step to landing an internship was to not only have passion, but some experience in the field would have also been nice.
With my lack of a resume and zero work experience; things did not look too good for me as an ideal suitor.
Much needed to be done to ensure that I was able to beat my fellow competitors whom wanted the same opportunity as myself. That night, with my journal in hand and thoughts in tow, I tried to remember every act of community service I had done over the years. I was surprised at how much volunteer work I had participated in without ever even realizing. I quickly filled the empty spaces on my resume template with all of the charity work I had done. I knew it would compensate for having no work experiences whatsoever.
The next step was looking for places that offered interning to the public. It was difficult to find a dental office that offered an internship to non-experience prospective students. I was seeking an internship that related to the field I was planning on getting into, which was Dentistry. I knew I wanted the internship to allow me shadow fellow dentists as well.
After scrolling through countless ads on craigslist, I quickly jotted down the addresses.
In my mind, the best way to go about landing myself an internship was allowing the office see me in person so that there was a face to my lack of a resume. The hunt for an internship began as I made my rounds to different offices handing them my resume along with a firm handshake and smile. Coming home that night, I kicked off my shoes and thought of how proud I was for having the guts to walk into so many offices with a not so credible resume. I fell asleep that night with dreams of resumes and weird ads I had encountered while surfing through Craigslist.
Days and weeks went by till I heard a response from 3 places. I was surprised I even got any feedback since all of the meetings were brief. After scheduling and meeting up for an interview with the 3 offices, I decided my best bet was the office that was closest to my house.
To make the part, it was important to dress the part. I knew if I was able to land these interviews I needed to dress accordingly.
I still remember walking into that office which was what would have been my first official interview ever for a position. I was nervous, but told myself they had called me back for a reason, and I had to make that reason a good one. After sitting down with the manager of the office and answering the questions that gave him a better idea of who I was, I ended up getting the internship.
Despite not getting a response right away, I still landed myself an internship, which was my goal at the very beginning of that summer. This experience has taught me the importance of being a go-getter. Had I not believed in myself and pushed myself to apply for an internship, I would have not had that experience. The fact that I was able to just walk into the dental offices with my lack of experience showed the offices my confidence as well. Another thing I felt was important was that I was able to achieve my goal by simply taking matters into my own hands. The entire process of searching for the internships and taking the liberty of handing in the resumes in person as opposed to e-mail really upped my game.
For the most part of my life, I’ve had my hand held through situations and circumstances. I say this in the most humble way possible. I have just been blessed with a father that was my Swiss army knife. – He always had a cure to all my woes and ailments in terms of everything. He was there for me through thick and thin. After he had passed away, I made it a priority to be able to learn to take care of myself and my family.
I knew that in order to achieve the goals and dreams I wanted in life, I needed to get out there do and do it myself. You’re the only person in life that will always be there for yourself all your life.
I do hope this post has in some way, even if it’s just a small way, inspired the readers to take that step next step in getting what they want in life. Even when it seems unlikely, always go after what you want. I feel it’s always important to at least try, even if you don’t get what you want.
As in what of my favorite quotes, “Venture all, and see what fate brings.”
