How to get a summer internship as a sophomore or junior

Internships are now one of the surest routes to a first job, and at top firms they can be harder to win than the job itself. Here is the calendar, the outreach and the interview prep that work.

LevelUp career guides · Updated November 9, 2026 · 8 min read

Why does the internship matter more than ever?

Because entry-level hiring is tightening and employers are filling more of it from their own interns. Indeed reports entry-level job postings down 7.5% year over year, and LinkedIn reports entry-level hiring down 6%. Meanwhile NACE’s 2026 Internship and Co-op Survey found the intern conversion rate at its highest in five years.

Put simply: a good internship is often a job offer with a 10-week interview attached. That is why sophomores and juniors who start early have a real advantage.

When should you start looking?

Earlier than feels natural. Large employers in finance, consulting and technology often recruit for summer interns the fall before, and some open even earlier. Mid-size and smaller companies tend to hire in the spring. A simple calendar:

Where do you find internships?

• Your career center and its job board, including employer info sessions on campus.
• Alumni on LinkedIn. Filter by your school and the company. Alumni reply to students from their school more often than to strangers.
• Professors, especially in your major. Many know employers who hire their students every year.
• Smaller companies and startups that never post on big job boards. Email the founder or a manager directly.
• Your own network: family friends, former managers, club alumni. Tell people exactly what you are looking for.

How do you get noticed before you apply?

By talking to someone inside the company first. Ashby’s study of 38 million applications found a referral lifts your chance of an interview from about 3% to 40%. And 44% of Gen Z tell LinkedIn the lack of the right network is their biggest barrier, so the students who build one stand out.

In the conversation, ask about them first, then ask what the company looks for in interns. Near the end, ask the question most students never ask: "Would you be comfortable referring me, or is there someone else I should speak with?" Send a thank-you within a day.

How do you win the internship interview?

Interviewers know you have little experience. They are judging how you think, how you communicate and whether you would be easy to work with for ten weeks. Prepare three things:

1. Four stories with numbers. A time you led something, solved a problem, handled a setback and persuaded someone. Keep each under two minutes. "Grew club membership from 40 to 75" beats "helped with recruitment."
2. Your "why us." One specific reason you want this company, drawn from your conversation with someone inside it.
3. Three questions for them. "What separates the interns who get full-time offers?" tells them you are thinking about the job after the internship.

End every interview by asking about next steps and timing. Then follow up on the day they named.

What if you don’t land an internship?

Build the experience yourself, and make it count on your resume. Employers care about what you did and what changed because of it.

• Take a customer-facing job and track one number you improved.
• Do a project for a local business: a market scan, a social media test, a process fix. Ask the owner for a reference.
• Run something on campus: an event, a fundraiser, a club initiative with a measurable goal.
• Become a campus ambassador, which gives you sales numbers and a story for every interview. See the LevelUp ambassador program.

Your checklist for this week

• Choose two target industries and list 20 to 30 employers.
• Find one alum at ten of them and send five outreach messages.
• Write your four stories, each with a number.
• Record two practice answers and cut them to under two minutes.
• Take the Hireability Scorecard to see which interview skills to work on first.