Steps for International Students

Seeking Internships
DO YOU WANT AN INTERNSHIP?

START HERE:
A). Attend a mandatory Work Clinic at the Office of International Affairs (OIA)/International Student & Scholar
Services (ISSS) located at 1380 Lawrence Street.
To sign up, call 303.315.2230 or visit www.isssworkclinic.eventbrite.com.
The work clinic is mandatory for ALL international students seeking internships.

B.) Attend an “Internship Workshop” at the Experiential Learning Center in Tivoli 260. Register in the “Events”
section on Handshake (ucdenver.joinhandshake.com). Multiple workshops offered on a weekly basis. During
this workshop you will:
o Learn about the process for finding an internship that matches your interests and major.
o Learn how to utilize Handshake and other resources to search and apply for available internships.

SEARCH
 Handshake (Remember to search using different approaches- keyword, industry, major, location).
Searching with all approaches will provide a more robust list internships on Handshake.
 Mass Search Engines (indeed.com; internships.com; denvergov.org; etc.)
 Research Local Companies (LinkedIn; Google Search; Buzz File; etc.)
 Network (talk to friends, family, professors, etc.)

APPLY
 Before you start applying, make sure you have tailored and updated resumes that have been reviewed.
 We recommend students apply to a minimum of 5 internships- sometimes it takes more, sometimes less.

DO YOU HAVE AN INTERNSHIP?

START HERE:
A. Did you complete your mandatory Work Clinic with ISSS? If yes, continue below

B. Your next step is to request your EXPERIENCE in Handshake.

 You can find Experiences under the Career Center tab in Handshake. You need to request an experience
for every semester and every CPT you plan on completing.
 Make sure you have all the necessary information before requesting your experience; you will need:
o The name, email and phone number of the site supervisor (person supervising your work at your
internship).
o Start date and end date that you have discussed with your site supervisor.
o A full job description; get as much detail as you can around orientation or trainings, weekly
projects, days and times you’ll be working, etc.
o 4-8 learning objectives that you are hoping to learn and develop in this internship.
o *If you are getting academic credit, you need to know the course number and faculty sponsor
associated with this internship.
o Be sure to fill in every field, if you don’t know something, put “unsure” and you can update it with
your Internship Advisor.

C. Schedule an Internship Appointment with your Internship Advisor through Handshake.

 Click “Career Center”, then click “Appointments”, then “Schedule a New Appointment”.
 Never been in our office before? Call our front desk to schedule at 303-315-7258.

Note: You are also required to obtain a Letter of Offer from your employer.
See sample template on back page.
 COMPANY LETTERHEAD with Address – ORIGINALS ONLY – NO COPIES

LETTER OF OFFER TEMPLATE

DATE: Month, Day, Year

Intern’s Full Legal Name

Intern’s Full Address

RE: Part-time or Full-time POSITION TITLE/NAME Internship Position

Dear Intern’s Full Legal Name Here

Organization/Company name is pleased to offer you the Part/Full time position of Position Title at
actual place where intern will be located beginning 1st working date and ending on end of college
term date. Your salary will be $XX.XX per hour and will require you to work X hours per week between
the hours of XX and XX, Monday - Friday.

The duties of this position will include: (include detailed job description with specific field of study-
related duties here). Your internship site supervisor/mentor will be Name of the person who will
supervise and evaluate the intern at the end of the term here). His/her contact information is: LIST
the site supervisor/mentor’s email and phone number here.

If you need additional information, please feel free to call __________ or Human Resources and we will
be glad to assist.

Sincerely,

Original Signature of Company Representative

Company Representative’s Name

Company Representative’s Title
Contact Information

University of Colorado Denver – Experiential Learning Center

303.315.7258 Tivoli 260 www.ucdenver.edu/elc Effective Spring 2018