Path 1 to Profile Enhancement: Company Internship
Students can actively seek internship opportunities to strengthen their professional practical background. Many large companies typically run large-scale summer internship recruitment drives. Keep an eye on the official websites of major companies and various job boards, as well as the employment and internship section of your school's BBS forum—relevant information can often be found there.
One important note: only take on an internship if your schedule allows. If you look up program data for various majors at universities abroad, you’ll find that almost no major has an average student age below 30. This means that many of your competitors have already been in the workforce for several years, even over a decade. Their CVs and personal statements, compared to your descriptions of classroom performance and university club activities, will shine much brighter.
So how can you make your internship more substantial and high-quality?
Identify the supervisor you report to
If you’re unsure who to report to as an intern, consult the human resources department or ask a colleague to help you identify the leader who should assign you tasks.
Proactively accumulate work experience
Internships are not just about doing grunt work or odd jobs. Be observant: what meetings or activities in the company you’re interning at interest you? Ask your supervisor if you can attend.
Think about the work going on around you. If you want to get involved in the entire workflow—from client acquisition to the project management cycle, all the way to project closure—ask if you can participate in different stages of the whole project.
Find people you want to talk to
There may be some people in the company you’ve heard about through conversations or noticed through your own observation. If you’re interested in discussing their career paths with them or getting their advice, don’t be afraid—give it a bold try.
Do things thoroughly and be reliable
Internship tasks are usually not very challenging, but whatever task you’re given, you should do your best. Every work task is important and worth your time. Before submitting reports or sending emails, carefully review them to ensure there are no mistakes before you submit or send.
Offer to help proactively
Take the initiative to ask if you can help others. As long as you’re not overstepping boundaries, it’s fine. Some people may not need help at the moment, but they’ll come to you when they do need it later.
This demonstrates your initiative, which will benefit your current work and future career development. When helping others with tasks, remember to do your best thoroughly.
Path 2 to Profile Enhancement: Seek Research Opportunities
Most domestic universities already run standard student research training programs, such as the SRTP programs at many universities. The school supports students in finding a professor to co-initiate a project, and through a period of discussion and study (around one year), complete a simple research project and produce conclusions and a report.
This type of research program often allows a model of one advisor plus multiple students, which also trains students’ teamwork skills.
Seek out senior students in your own major or related majors, or graduate students in the graduate school. Learn about the situation and needs of their research groups, and look for opportunities to join, or to contact advisors.
Look for internship opportunities at off-campus companies. Some IT companies or companies with strong R&D focus have research and development departments—for example, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc. Students in STEM fields whose majors align with these research directions can send their résumés early to seek summer part-time internship opportunities.
Look for school-company research cooperation opportunities. Many research universities themselves participate in collaborative projects with the R&D departments of tech companies, and these departments often engage in extensive cooperation with relevant school faculties. Students can learn about the situation early and consult with faculty heads about opportunities for internships or joining R&D teams.
Path 3 to Profile Enhancement: Awards
Awards received during your studies can showcase your interests and learning ability, indicating that the applicant possesses strong overall competence. Since awards often require long-term effort to achieve, students should consciously participate in relevant competitions and activities as early as possible, because these awards can play a supporting role in the study abroad application process.
Path 4 to Profile Enhancement: Exchange Programs
Some schools have exchange programs with foreign universities, or the school’s program itself is of the overseas A+B type, allowing students to study abroad at a foreign university for varying periods (such as one semester or one to two academic years).
Enthusiastic students can learn about these opportunities right after enrollment. If they meet the eligibility requirements, they can sign up for such programs based on their personal interests. This not only helps them experience the overseas education model in advance but also strengthens their academic background and competitiveness.
Path 5 to Profile Enhancement: Summer School
Many universities now offer open online courses, and many prestigious universities also run summer schools. Students can consult study abroad agencies for details on these programs. They can take relevant courses from top universities through these means.
Or they can apply to summer school for study. Especially for students wanting to change majors, or those from average academic backgrounds, these experiences can boost their competitiveness.
Below we’ll break it down by discipline—if you’re in STEM or business, what specific profile enhancement steps should you take?
STEM Master’s Degrees
For STEM applicants who want to successfully get into top US science and engineering universities, or even secure scholarships, you should get into a lab and engage in research work as early as possible, and ideally achieve certain research results. Topic selection for research is very important; a topic that’s easy to get started on can allow you to produce results in a short time.
Papers are very important
US universities place great importance on papers, using them to understand an applicant’s professional level. Strengthen ties with your lab advisor or senior students working on similar research topics, and look for opportunities to co-author papers. When writing academic papers, keep up with the latest developments in your intended field as much as possible. Being exposed to cutting-edge research technology helps broaden your horizons, enhance your professional ability, and add highlights to your paper.
Taking a CS master’s application as an example, if you can publish a paper at an international conference like IEEE, that would be ideal.
Academic competitions
There are currently two major worldwide academic competitions: the Mathematical Contest in Modeling (MCM) and the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest. The MCM typically has a longer competition time (3 days) and demands comprehensive ability more than specialized expertise.
MCM often requires knowledge and skills across mathematics, computer science, physics, etc., while ACM demands very high knowledge of computer algorithms. If you win an award, it’s a great highlight for your background packaging.
Make every effort to find internships at prestigious companies that are highly relevant to your intended major. For a computer science master’s application, if you can secure an internship at well-known internet companies like Microsoft, Google, or Amazon, it will add considerable weight to your application.
Business Master’s Degrees
US graduate school applicants can participate more in volunteer work, teaching, clubs, and other community activities, striving to become leaders who organize and plan various activities, demonstrating their organizational ability and leadership to US universities.
Relevant internship locations
Most schools do not have a hard requirement for internship or work experience, but from analyzing past admission data, having outstanding internship/work experience is a significant advantage in the application.
For new graduates, you can enhance your background through high-value internships or those related to your major. Taking a master’s in accounting as an example, applicants can choose to intern at Big Four accounting firms, foreign banks, audit bureaus, or the finance departments of well-known enterprises.
Interpersonal communication skills
Business schools place importance on interpersonal and communication skills, especially the ability to interact with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. For applicants with no work experience, if you can go abroad for an exchange of 0.5–1 year, or attend a summer school at a foreign university, or do volunteer or community work abroad, it will greatly help your application. These experiences will play a crucial role in enriching your personal statement and other materials.
Whether applying for STEM or business programs, internship/work experience is an important component. Internships demonstrate the applicant’s professional ability while also deepening their practical understanding of their major.
