I know you’re all still swamped with the work you neglected over spring break and don’t even want to think about the fact that exams are just around the corner. That’s why I hate to break it to you, but if you’re planning on sacrificing your summer for an internship this year,  the time to start searching, applying, and interviewing was yesterday. But don’t worry – you can still start now!

Whether you’ve already pledged to yourself that an internship will be beneficial to your eventual career, or this article only just now put the idea into your head, it can be difficult to know where to look. After all, if we are going to spend the summer working for little or no pay, we want the best damn internship out there, don’t we? As a bit of an intern connoisseur (I have five under my belt), I’d like to help steer you in the right direction.

1. Your school.

When employers are seeking smart, motivated interns, they often look to the local universities. Check in with your career center and see if any intern positions have been posted, or if a career counselor has gotten any requests for qualified applicants. While you’re there, a counselor can help you tighten up that resume so you really have an impact when you start sending it out.

Or, even better: see if anyone in your major department can help you out. You can usually earn college credit through an internship, so your professors have seen hundreds of students complete internships that often required a work-log or journal to prove that they were worthy of X credit hours. In fact, many departments now require an internship to complete the degree, so they have to be ready to point their students in the right direction. Personally, my English program had an internship elective, and one professor served as the internship coordinator. She gave me a list of potential employers, and then put in a good word for me after I’d chosen a company to pursue.

2. Friends and family

If you’ve got connections, use them! Is your cousin already successful in her own career field? Ask her if she knows anyone in the industry who is looking for interns. Is your dad’s best friend from high school the CEO of a Fortune-500? Ask if he can put in a good word. Our “elders” have all gone through some sort of struggle to succeed in their careers, and are always thrilled to see a young yet motivated individual.

Personal anecdote: My cousin is a graphic design major. I recently had a woman in my office (my superior, but not my boss) send out a mass email to the college students at work because her friend was looking for an intern who was experienced in web design. Knowing my cuz was looking for a summer gig that would allow her to build her portfolio, I immediately sent it on, and she soon got set up with an interview.

3. Cold-calling.

Make a list of companies that you would like to work for. Whether it’s a convenient, local company or a super-famous American icon (hey, even MTV needs interns!), write down their addresses and send out your resume. In your cover letter, express the fact that you would love to do an internship for them, but that if they don’t have anything available, you would appreciate an informal interview with one of their agents. This shows that you are serious about the company, and while many unsolicited resumes go unnoticed, you may actually get that informal interview- and that’s how you start networking for the future!

4. The internet.

Come on. What DON’T we go to the web for these days? Even if you’re doing the cold-calling mentioned above, you might find internship listings on the company websites while you are stalking their current HR person. Most companies do have sections for internship openings in their “Jobs” sections, and you might even find an online application form or specific job requirements and details.

If you don’t even know what types of COMPANIES to check out, there are plenty of searchable databases like internshipprograms.com, internships.com, and internzoo.com. Even Monster has an intern section, or you can dare to go abroad via InternAbroad.

(Personal note: for artsy students, especially in the realm of theater, check out the job listings on Playbill.com, because all of the performing arts internships for the summer are being posted, um…. now!)

So, if anyone has specific questions regarding your personal majors/career fields/job wishes… post them below! Your fellow CC’ers can share their own tips from past experiences!

Internships are a vital part to landing a job after college and with this increasingly competitive job market and a failing economy, we can use all the advantages we can get. Internships are an easy way to get your foot in the door at the company of your choice where you will meet valuable contacts, get insider information and learn the tricks of the trade.

News to you?

Don’t panic – there’s still time to apply and, lucky for you, we’ve done half the work already and found the 9 coolest internships out there. (The 10th was interning right here for CollegeCandy.com, but we already have some rockin’ lucky ladies lined up. Sorry!) So ladies, break out your blazers, your resumes and start booking those interviews because here’s your chance!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is the perfect internship for the art history student or future museum curator. As an intern you will have full access to The Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as other collections and research libraries in the NYC area. Interns get to help with departmental projects (curatorial, administrative, or educational), give gallery talks, and assist at the Visitor Information Center. Plus you get a $3,250 stipend.

Apple

You won’t be fetching coffee and making copies at Apple. Instead, interns are almost always assigned to small teams where they work alongside experienced professionals. You could potentially work on everything from new product brainstorming to implementation of a final product.

Electronic Arts

Who wouldn’t want to get paid to make and play with video games all summer? EA offers students the opportunity to check out a career in the games industry. “This includes a weekly speaker series which gives interns a chance to network with some of the brightest minds in the industry. There are also social and team building events throughout the summer, often including an exhibition of interns’ work for company leaders”. Worried about making a career out of video games? Don’t. EA often offers interns a full time job after graduation.

FBI

The Honors Internship Program brings students to work at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. where they offer participants an insider’s view of FBI operations and help you explore career opportunities within the Bureau.  Not only could you spend the summer rockin’ a pair of hot aviators doing your best Miss Congeniality impression, you will also earn the satisfaction of helping citizens and gaining important experience.

MTV Networks

MTV is home to more than 130 channels worldwide, has revolutionized the music industry and is a cornerstone of pop culture. They offer a variety of internships in several fields (marketing, casting, editorial, production, promotion, legal etc.) where you will gain valuable contacts and entertainment industry knowledge. You’ll have a blast at this fast paced, trendy internship and, who knows, maybe you’ll even run into a celebrity or two.

TeenVogue.Com

TeenVogue.com is seeking Summer Interns to assist with their online production work. With magazines folding all over the country an online magazine or a magazine’s website combines the best of both worlds. Be a part of the ever growing online media industry while learning the ins and outs of the magazine publishing and fashion worlds. You’ll meet valuable contacts and build up your resume.

Miller Brewing Co.

Maybe you can’t major in beer, but you sure can work with it. It may not be all beer pong and keggers but it wouldn’t be a brewing company without at least a few opportunities to kick back and crack open a cold one. In addition to an assigned self managed project, Miller hosts two social or networking events per week, including sports games and brewery tours. At the end of the summer a successful final project presentation often leads to full-time employment.

Tom’s Shoes

This internship will appeal to the do-gooder in all of us. Tom’s Shoes is looking for interns to organize, manage and execute projects in their Marketing/Events, Special Projects, Copy Writing, Graphic Design, Web/IT, and Film departments, as well as Non-Profit Friends of Tom’s. If you don’t feel like sitting at home for the summer, Tom’s Shoes provides housing for the duration of the program while you make a world of difference.

Environmental Protection Agency

Every green girl should check out the EPA’s internship program which helps the orginization lead the nation’s environmental science, research, education and assessment efforts, and works to protect our health and our environment. Internships, fellowships and other opportunities are available in Washington, D.C., laboratories, and at regional EPA locations nationwide.

I spend 83% of my day deleting e-mails from my career center. It seems they spend 100% of their day sending out e-mails with job tips, career fair, and networking seminars. Every time I report one as spam, five more pop up in its place.

And the most frustrating thing is that their language is all so misleading.

Job Hunting makes the process sound so adventurous. I’m immediately thinking back to shooting oxen (too many pounds to carry back!) on the Oregon Trail. Instead it’s scrolling through databases and filling out applications. I went to the resume building workshop. I assumed that we would be physically stacking up our resumes to build some sort of post-modern card house that would look awesome while also giving some insight into resume writing. Instead, it’s listening to all the things I should have on my resume instead of babysitting jobs from the 7th grade.

And don’t even get me started about the words career FAIR. I walked in with a bib over my pants suit ready to munch on a giant turkey leg while talking about jobs with a company representative in a ferris wheel. Instead I found a bunch of tables manned by serious adults handing out pamphlets and business cards. If nothing else, can’t they at least put a cotton candy booth in the one corner?

So I’ve abandoned all the “help” the career center gives me and I’ve moved onto bigger and better things. And by bigger and better I mean creepier and sexier – I’ve resorted to Craigslist, the only website on the internet more dangerous than Myspace.

I’ve been using it for years to find a summer job and even though it’s had a 0% success rate so far, it makes me feel so accomplished. And, sure, along the way I’ve learned that not everyone tells the truth. Sometimes when they say “successful production company looking for an intern” they actually mean that it’s one person sitting in their basement with ambitions of not only making a movie, but possibly killing the person that responds to the ad (me!). But that’s OK. I’ve figured out not to return the messages insisting I meet in a park at midnight to go over career options, or the ones saying I would be perfect for the job as long as I don’t mind nannying naked.

My quest on Craigslist isn’t so much about actually finding a job, but more that I can tell people that I applied to 46 jobs that day. They ooo and aww and pat me on the back for being a go-getter. I say thank you and tell them that if they don’t hear from me for a few days it would be wise to contact the police.

But then, even after my days of surfing Craigslist, I’m still left unemployed. And adults always like to cheer me up by saying things like, “Did you know this is the worst year ever to graduate?” and “Everyone’s being laid off. No one’s getting a job this year.”

Is laid off the same thing as getting laid?

And your three best friends are the only people who read it.

But you don’t care; you’ll get there. And even if you don’t, you have so much fun blogging that you keep tip-tapping away…while thinking in the back of your mind that maybe – just maybe – there is a chance that this will somehow turn into a job after college.

Well, we can’t promise you that, but we did just get word that all those hours you log in documenting your life on your creatively titled website (I once had “LaurenIsFunny.com”….for real) could be worth $10,000 in college scholarships.

Yeah, you heard me.

CollegeScholarships.org is giving away a $10K blogger scholarship! To any college student with a blog. Even if you didn’t have a blog until just this second!

You can get all the deets on their website, so hop on over and check it out.

The economy sucks, the costs of college are rising and you could be $10,000 richer just for typing up a few things about your life while lounging on your bed? I know – it’s almost too good to be true.

But it’s not. Because those dudes over at CollegeScholarships.org support the bloggers (and future blogers) of America. They too work from home in their PJs blog for a living and want to help others reach that goal. So start writing, apply for the scholarship and send us a little money when you win.

Or just let us know about your blog so we can spread the word.

[Photo courtesy of www.enetincome.com]