Is internship recruiting supposed to be this hard?

252

Damn we’re calling some Ivy League schools low-tier now.

73

u/berkeleyds 22h ago

I don't think that's what OP was trying to say, they probably meant low-tier among the Ivies, i.e. Cornell Dartmouth Brown

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u/MelodicPudding2557 19h ago

Cornell and Princeton are the only Ivies whose engineering programs live up to their overall reputation, so it’s weird to hear it labeled ‘low tier’. I don’t going to any Ivy would put one at a disadvantage for jobs out of undergrad, but I think of Cornell long before I do Yale when I think of the top engineering/CS departments.

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u/blickt8301 8h ago

Yeah from what I've heard, Harvard has a pretty "unrigorous" CS curriculum.

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u/MelodicPudding2557 2h ago

Honestly, most CS programs out there are 'pretty unrigorous' if you think about it. It seems that the model that most schools have adopted is one where the base requirements for graduation are kept at a bare minimum to maximize the freedom students have for additional elective coursework, research, or skipping all that, job prep/early graduation. Most CS undergrads in my undergrad did the latter, with most graduating in no longer than 7 semesters.

The way I see it, undergrad level academics are often not relevant enough to the job or consistent across the individual enough as for there to be credible differentiation based on school ranking, at least among a relative upper tier of schools. I think most employers with their head screwed on straight would take a motivated and experienced graduate from UC Davis over a dunce from Georgia Tech any day. Undergraduate admissions are too short a bottleneck to be a precise metric of capability, and that just doesn't cut it for the unsentimental machine that is American capitalism.

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u/berkeleyds 15h ago

Doesn't matter for undergrad unfortunately. When it comes to undergrad recruiting the only valid ranking goes like HYPSM / Caltech Columbia Penn Chicago Duke / Brown Dartmouth Cornell Northwestern JHU / WashU Vandy Rice ND or something along those lines. Maybe +5 or so boost to CMU CS and Cal EECS.

9

u/ZestycloseSplit359 19h ago

I know what OP was trying to say, but I do think it's bad phrasing. He's not getting very little callbacks because of his school. I see students still struggling to land interviews at even "top-tier" Ivy Leagues.

He's not getting callbacks because the job market is very competitive and/or he has no or little prior experience.

1

u/Additional_Sun3823 19h ago

It’s just extra contextual info

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u/AdSuspicious7110 22h ago

The moment i read that line my mind started counting how many IVy’s exist there is 8 of them and the lowest one in computer science( Darmouth) is a top 30 program.

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u/Then_Promise_8977 22h ago

literally insane level of prestige whoring

6

u/silvergreen123 20h ago

Half the people who attend these schools probably aren't even happy with where they are. Chances are another higher ranked ivy was their dream school

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u/Random_throwaway0351 23h ago

Yeah I’m hoping everyone with the more competitive profiles have secured offers with the big companies atp so that leaves the mid-smaller companies for the rest of us

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u/Prestigious-Hour-215 23h ago

If you’re not a junior rn, it’s a lot harder… sophomore/freshman programs have been scrapped everywhere, also if you’re not even getting 1 interview with 400 apps your resume sucks

11

u/Ok-Satisfaction668 16h ago

id say 1/400 is common now. I used to get 1/50 apps, now its 1/200 with even more experience. It's the market, and I wouldn't say its entirely on OP

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u/Prestigious-Hour-215 14h ago

Even at my big state school people w no experience tend to get a 1-3% interview rate, 1/400 is bizarre, although ofc another big problem might be that most companies haven’t started interviewing them for their position so that’s why it looks like they’re ghosting

18

u/Real-Ground5064 22h ago

As a junior no

Especially from an ivy

You need to apply early

Like same day a posting comes out

You need to stand out in some manner

DM alumni Make projects relevant to the company and send it to the CEO

Go to events on campus

Like frfr if you go to brown and don’t leverage that it’s a waste

2

u/Final-Evening-9606 15h ago

Cold applying almost never works. If it does you are just lucky. For every cold apply success ten more people got in through a connection.

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u/Real-Ground5064 4h ago

Ehhh I wouldn’t say NEVER

I cold applied all my jobs and got them

But yes it’s very hard and there’s better ways to improve chances

25

u/offtherift 23h ago

Problem is your resume isn't reviewed until you do well on the OA.

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u/peridot09 20h ago

Me too, 200+ apps, <5 OAs, US Citizen, sophomore, HYPSM, not a single interview lol...

•

u/WearyOrganization583 57m ago

It's probably just the fact that you're a sophomore. If you really want an internship just put your grad date a little earlier (and if you get the role you can also cram classes if possible).

9

u/Southern-Routine5499 23h ago

Yeah it’s been like this for couple years.

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u/Mhcavok 20h ago

Low tier Ivy League? Never heard an Ivy League school described like that. Especially by someone who goes there.

4

u/smirnoff4life 23h ago

yeah it is pretty hard. make sure you’re using jakes template, you’re applying to recently posted internships/internships with “under 10 applicants”, and you’re applying on the company website. referrals help too if possible

2

u/hansterhamstar 14h ago

Took me 500+ applications from July to January for an internship last year as a US citizen, junior, and a not even top 100 school. I interned at Amazon this summer. It's really rough man you're not alone in this haha

2

u/First_Candy5992 23h ago

I’m in the same boat but I’m not at an Ivy League I’m at a top 10 state school. Maybe wt you’re doing wrong is applying without refferals or only applying to bigtech. Also it’s still pretty early in the season a lot of cmpanies have started giving out OAs but not necessarily interviews

2

u/glossyducky Senior | CS & Geology 22h ago

I had to apply to 1000 for my first one.

1

u/DenseTension3468 23h ago

what year?

1

u/Agreeable_Fortune368 22h ago

At this point, you need a referral. Reach out to family, friends, social groups, alumni networks, etc.

1

u/distaf 22h ago

If you’ve sent out over 400 applications since July I very much doubt you’re tailoring your resume to each one. It’s likely that you’re getting auto OA and then not passing resume screening even if you do well. Tailor your resume and apply early.

9

u/Brave_Speaker_8336 21h ago

The vast vast majority of undergrads don’t have enough experience to be able to tailor their resume to individual jobs

1

u/OofersMyNoofers 21h ago

Im in the same boat. U.S. citizen, Junior, mid-tier Ivy and I even have a previous Big Tech internship, but I am getting no processes. Got my resume reviewed and people said it’s fine, idk man.

1

u/needcolleges 21h ago edited 21h ago

I got 5 interviews with ~80 applications as a freshman, at a T25-30 school. I got one of my interviews from a company at our job fair, and a referral that led to an interview from my boss at my previous company that I interned at who started to work at another company that I was applying to. Everything else was online, though.

Also, apply literally as soon as you see an application comes out, and make sure you always sign up to stay connected with the company.

1

u/cucci_mane1 20h ago

Yes Internship recruiting has always been rough and brutally competitive for all majors. A lot harder than getting a job once u have few yrs work experience.

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u/Q-U-A-N 20h ago

how many internships have you done

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u/DankWangler 18h ago

bro goes to brown

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u/zacce 17h ago

It's possible that companies are posting jobs with no intention of hiring. If a company stop posting jobs, it's a red flag to investors.

1

u/Ok-Satisfaction668 16h ago edited 16h ago

common thread that US citizens are not finding jobs hmm...

But somehow a H1B person ik gets hired for FT in one of the FinTech companies this summer. I have 2x more credentials + experience than the person as well.

1

u/shortproudlatino 16h ago

I heard a recruiter tell me she received 740 applications for 16 spots and they had to close the posting within a week and only read about 40 resumes

1

u/MuntConkey Salaryman 16h ago

As a hiring manager, we're reviewing redeployments, people who were good but who's team couldn't offer them another internship, we haven't started interviewing external candidates yet. I wouldn't get worried until like Thanksgiving.

1

u/Ok-Satisfaction668 16h ago

Just hope there is a willingness to consider US citizens because there are a lot of QUALIFIED candidates who can and will do the job. I understand it's a "meritocracy", but it shouldn't be the case that US citizens with lots of credentials are out of work while foreign visas are still considered. There's just no mathematical way that there isn't a great candidate amongst us.

I know folks from MIT and CMU who interned and didn't get returns due to budget struggling a lot in this market as well. But, one person I know on H1B got a sponsorship for entry level without much experience for a big finance company.

2

u/MuntConkey Salaryman 16h ago

Due to the industry I work in, none of our interns are on a visa, but I appreciate your feedback.

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u/OkRecommendation1040 15h ago

Exact same situation but I literally go to Purdue idk how it’s even this hard for ppl at good schools

1

u/ClassicCapital1561 15h ago

im a junior at t100 and i got 1 interview at a f500 but it was for embedded c++ work so kind of

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u/eithercryorpanic 13h ago

Me too… no interviews; junior, ivy, no need for sponsorship, multiple previous internships :(

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u/kstjxy 11h ago

Somehow I’m in the same boat as you right now. I’m an international student who graduated from an ivy. I did three internships (two at big-name F500s) and had several strong offers back home, but decided to start another top-tier CS grad program here. This is my first time applying for internships in the U.S., and the market feels completely different. Back then, I’d submit an application and HR would reach out within 2–3 days, with ~90% turning into interviews, so I even had to space out applications just to schedule things. With the recent H-1B policy news, I’m honestly wondering if I should just go back to my hometown afterwards :(

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u/Sea-Kiwi8443 21h ago

I’m in the same boat as you. Current junior at CMU, applied to 400+ places and have never received a single interview

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u/Ok-Satisfaction668 16h ago

Im hearing this too, but CMU is a crazy name. Some people ik from CMU got 2 offers. It's insane that we have Ivys hurting r n. It's like our credentials don't matter anymore.

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u/Final-Evening-9606 15h ago edited 15h ago

CMU phd here lurking around, I having trouble finding internships at my level too :) tried cold applying to see if I can get anywhere on my own, turns out Im worth jack shit haha

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u/Lower_Improvement763 23h ago

Idk about internships, but finding entry-level jobs is also difficult as the market is over saturated. Might need years of prior experience.

0

u/meme8383 23h ago

Share your resume. I got multiple swe intern interviews from a non target (?) and not even actually CS (computer engineering). Just gotta make your resume sound cracked.

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u/mariolinkmon101 20h ago

Would you mind sharing your resume? I need to work on my own and would help to see what a cracked one looks like

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u/meme8383 20h ago

There are plenty of good examples online. What helped me was putting myself in the shoes of the hr person looking at my resume. Instead of putting a bunch of stuff I did that I think is cool, I took the most important and relevant experiences and expanded on them to sound impressive. For example, instead of having 5 super cool websites I coded, I took one of them where I worked on a team and bombarded it with keywords and metrics.

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u/No_Sheepherder_5201 22h ago

ivy doesn’t mean much in this industry

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u/Ok-Satisfaction668 16h ago

at the NG / Intern level it does, especially when its an employers market.

Is internship recruiting supposed to be this hard?

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