Hello Twisty Puzzlers,

Once again, I am looking for a summer internship. It seems like this happens every year. I start applying for internships in December, and keep searching and applying all the way to the end of the school year, but my applications never seem to do me any good. I am posting this here because you never know where an opportunity might come from. I know that there are several engineers on the forum, and this is mostly a message to them.

Are any of you, or the companies you work for, looking for an engineering intern this summer?

Here's some information about me:

In my three years at the University of Colorado at Boulder, I have completed all of the technical coursework for my bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. My final year will be devoted to a capstone project, a few small lab courses, and the two remaining courses in my Applied Mathematics minor.

I am an enthusiastic mechanical design engineer, with advanced skills in SolidWorks and a love of all kinds of gadgets. I enjoy taking an idea and turning into something that can be made, especially when it is something that will improve people’s lives. I have experience with mechanical design for robotics, and extensive experience with rapid prototyping. For more information about my various engineering design projects, both for work and for fun, please take a look at my Digital Portfolio: https://sites.google.com/site/eitancherportfolio/.

If you are looking for a creative, hard-working mechanical engineering intern this summer, I hope you will consider contacting me.

I have attached my resume and cover letter to this post.

I hope something comes of this!

Sincerely,
Eitan Cher

I got a job! I'm going to be working for a materials testing system producer in Chicago. It's so nice to be done looking for internships. It's been a pain in the rear, but hey! It was worth it!

To all you youngsters out there, when it comes time to look for internships. start looking in November, not February.

-Eitan

Hi Eitan, I'm glad you've found something for the summer. I took a look at your resume and I think you can make yourself stand out better than your peers by adding a personal section at the top.

I'm thinking of something along the lines of:
Personal Profile:

• Self-motivated problem seeker and problem solver.
• Driven to succeed.
• ...etc...

You'll know what describes you best and what you want to say.

The reason I suggest a section like this is that your technical skill-set and education are only one aspect of what will make you good (or bad) for a career position. A lot of what makes somebody a good engineer or a good employee have nothing to do with how smart or educated you are and have a lot to do with how creative they are, how much they like tackling hard problems, how much of a team player they are, etc.

When somebody is looking at a bunch of resumes from new graduates there are usually happy with several candidates technical ability to do the job. Their concern is usually with will that person succeed in the work environment and will they be able to handle the stress, deadlines, and project hiccups. If you get a resume where the candidate is willing to make statements about who they are and what makes them tick it is a lot more encouraging.

Thanks for the advice! I'll add a section like that for when I'm applying for entry-level positions next year.

-Eitan

I'll second bmenrigh, an education is required but other factors make a huge difference.

By highlighting your puzzle work you can show abilities very important to an employer:
Determination
Curiosity
Attention to detail
Ability to take a task to completion
Self starter

All of these qualities are very valuable and can set you apart from other candidates. In particular what people do in their own time is far more important than what they did in a class project. People in the work world know that everyone takes classes and does projects for them. This gives no indication of their interests or even skills, as many classes are so short you aren't expected to get much of any project finished, just to demonstrate understanding.

Congratulations on the internship,

Dave

Congrats Eitan! Well deserved!!!

Now, time to (positively) dazzle your supervisor with your puzzle skills,
the same way you have done to us here!




Pantazis