College is a four-year party that eventually leads up to students settling down and finding a career. For current students, however, the real world is coming sooner than expected in the form of internships. Students looking for their first internship usually have the same questions: when should they start, who and where can they go to ask for help, and how are other students doing in the process?

Jennifer Burns, assistant dean of career services for the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University, explained what information students need to know before applying for internships.

“Students should start preparing for internships as early as possible to have the widest range of options,” she said. “For example, if you are interested in a summer internship, you should start exploring possibilities in November. Deadlines vary from November up until May or beyond, but if you begin early, you ensure that you don’t miss anything.”

Burns said that as early as freshman year, students should start building their resume by gaining experience on campus through clubs and activities.

Junior Jillian Vryhof interns at Seventeen Magazine in New York City.

“I spent basically mid-October up until January e-mailing editors from several magazines my resume and cover letters and waited for replies,” she said.