26A - Celebrating Failure
1.) Over the past two semesters I failed to acquire a summer internship. Starting in the early winter of this past year, I began my search for an internship with extremely limited work experience. I began searching and applying for internship positions that I was highly interested in all across the country, from San Diego to New York City. I was applying for positions that had hundreds of applicants and that offered the best benefits and experience for a college student. After weeks without hearing back I began applying to less competitive internship positions that were local to my hometown. I began hearing back from recruiters and gaining more and more hope for an interview. After a couple months never making it to the final interview, I began applying to almost any internship within a 100 mile radius that I was even somewhat qualified for. With the start of the pandemic underway, there weren't many companies looking to spend money hiring young, inexperienced interns. I even got multiple emails that a lot of the places I had applied to were no longer opening an internship position. I got to the point where I decided that any sort of internship experience would be better than no internship experience at all.
2.) I learned many valuable lessons through my failed attempt at landing an internship. The first thing I learned is that I can't be too picky. Everybody has to start somewhere and even if you don't secure your dream internship the first time, you can use the experience from another internship to land that dream position in the future. I also realized that being open minded during my job search would allow me to consider opportunities that I had not considered previously, and could find new positions that I would be interested in. Finally, I learned how to improve my resume and interview skills. The more I submitted applications and completed interviews, the more I learned how to polish my resume and exude confidence in an interview situation, whether it be online or over the phone.
3.) Failure is certainly hard and it can take a huge blow to your confidence. However, I think if you choose to look at your failures in a way that allows you to understand and appreciate the lessons you've learned through failing, it can be a lot easier to get through. When I experience failure or feel as though I am going to fail at something, I tend to procrastinate whatever it is I think I am going to fail at. For example, if I know I have a really hard exam and I am worried about failing it, I will spend more time stressing about how I might fail that exam than I would spend actually studying for that exam and trying my best not to fail. This is something I have learned to deal with throughout college and have definitely made improvements on. The most important thing for me to remember is that failure is a great learning experience and offers an opportunity to work on something and get better at it.
1.) Over the past two semesters I failed to acquire a summer internship. Starting in the early winter of this past year, I began my search for an internship with extremely limited work experience. I began searching and applying for internship positions that I was highly interested in all across the country, from San Diego to New York City. I was applying for positions that had hundreds of applicants and that offered the best benefits and experience for a college student. After weeks without hearing back I began applying to less competitive internship positions that were local to my hometown. I began hearing back from recruiters and gaining more and more hope for an interview. After a couple months never making it to the final interview, I began applying to almost any internship within a 100 mile radius that I was even somewhat qualified for. With the start of the pandemic underway, there weren't many companies looking to spend money hiring young, inexperienced interns. I even got multiple emails that a lot of the places I had applied to were no longer opening an internship position. I got to the point where I decided that any sort of internship experience would be better than no internship experience at all.
2.) I learned many valuable lessons through my failed attempt at landing an internship. The first thing I learned is that I can't be too picky. Everybody has to start somewhere and even if you don't secure your dream internship the first time, you can use the experience from another internship to land that dream position in the future. I also realized that being open minded during my job search would allow me to consider opportunities that I had not considered previously, and could find new positions that I would be interested in. Finally, I learned how to improve my resume and interview skills. The more I submitted applications and completed interviews, the more I learned how to polish my resume and exude confidence in an interview situation, whether it be online or over the phone.
3.) Failure is certainly hard and it can take a huge blow to your confidence. However, I think if you choose to look at your failures in a way that allows you to understand and appreciate the lessons you've learned through failing, it can be a lot easier to get through. When I experience failure or feel as though I am going to fail at something, I tend to procrastinate whatever it is I think I am going to fail at. For example, if I know I have a really hard exam and I am worried about failing it, I will spend more time stressing about how I might fail that exam than I would spend actually studying for that exam and trying my best not to fail. This is something I have learned to deal with throughout college and have definitely made improvements on. The most important thing for me to remember is that failure is a great learning experience and offers an opportunity to work on something and get better at it.
Wow, a very well stated lesson. The interviewing process, resume, and work experience is so important, and even more so given the current job market. You were faced with something that I think many people in the Business College are dealing with right now or are going to face in nearing future. I admire your positive outlook, and I think that it’s very impressive how you were able to see your failed attempts as practice to fine-tune your application skills. I appreciate your sharing of this information, I’m sure it was tough having to look back on.
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