For many students, entering the job market can seem daunting.
“It’s very difficult. There’s lots of college-educated kids nowadays, and a lot of them are very, very impressive,” said Tony Yan, a junior majoring in human biology. “It’s hard to stand out.”
As the final week of classes comes to an end, University of Southern California students are on the prowl to land jobs and internships for summer 2025 — whether by themselves, through their personal networks or university career services.
Cat Sanchez, a first year master’s student majoring in trauma informed practices in educational settings, said it has been difficult.
“For the few months before starting my year, I couldn’t find [an internship]. It was really difficult. I applied to so many places,” Sanchez said. “Then I got here, and I applied to some of the on-campus jobs. I work at the [Health Science Campus] bookstore and that one was a little more difficult. It took me two career fairs to find [a job].”
Jane Walgren, a senior majoring in journalism, described her visit to the Annenberg Job Fair earlier this year as “a little challenging.”
“There was just so many people [in attendance] and only one person [at the booth],” Walgren said. “You feel like you have to really impress them when you get up there, and you feel like you’re competing with everybody.”
But with graduation less than two weeks away, Walgren reminisced about what she would have done differently during her time at USC and advised students to take advantage of the resources USC has to offer.
“Especially with your resume, make sure it looks good, or do mock interviews,” Walgren said. “I wish I would have utilized that a little bit more.”
Sophomore Jenna Gallaway has a partial internship that is not yet confirmed for this summer. The key to landing one, she said, was attending USC career fairs and applying through online platforms like Handshake and LinkedIn. She said persistence was important.
“Don’t give up, and persist,” she said. “I would say, a lot of times you think it’s just like a one [application] and done, but I think multiple follow-ups for jobs that you don’t need to apply for is definitely the way to go.”