How to Land a UX Internship

If I had to start my UX job search from scratch today… (experienced IC edition) Here’s exactly how I’d do it to land a role aligned with where I want to go (not just where I’ve been): (Save this ♻️ if you’re in the middle of a search) 1. I’d start by identifying my “career direction anchor” → Not the job title I can get. → The one I want next (and why I’m uniquely suited for it.) • A strength that sets me apart (e.g. systems thinking in complex tools) • A pattern in my wins (e.g. turning chaos into clarity) • A direction I can grow into (e.g. Principal IC, not UX Manager) This clarity keeps you from saying yes to the wrong roles out of panic. 2. I’d create a 1-pager that proves alignment. No fluff. Just evidence of how I solve the right problems. • A crisp “what I do best” section • 2-3 examples that back it up (+ optional) a career case study aligned with the type of role I want next It's not about showing everything, but about showing the right thing. 3. I’d build a simple content strategy to stay top of mind. Once a week on LinkedIn: • A post about how I approach real UX challenges • A story about something I learned the hard way • A breakdown of a strategy that helped a team move faster, smarter, or better This makes people remember me (so when an opportunity comes up, I’m on their list.) 4. I’d write my resume for one role only. Not a “catch-all.” A laser-targeted asset. Each bullet answers: How did this create value for the business or team? (that’s how resumes get read past line 1.) 5. I’d prep 5 crisp stories that show who I am in action. Every interview is just this: → "Can you solve our kind of problems?" → "Will we want to work with you?" Your job is to answer both, BEFORE they ask. 6. I’d share quick value in every recruiter screen. e.g. “Here’s how I helped speed up decision-making across 4 squads last year.” Make them want to put you in front of the hiring manager now. 7. I’d build a “value vault” for interviews. • 2-3 frameworks I lean on • A team ritual I introduced • A sticky insight I uncovered Bring real substance, and don’t wait to be asked. P.S. Let me know if you want a list of things I would do if I were looking for my first UX leadership role today…

How I would go about finding a summer role as an international student First, you need to know it’s not too late to find a summer internship! I know how challenging it can be to find an internship as an international student, but with the right strategy and a proactive approach, you can still land a role. Here’s how I’d go about it: 1️⃣ 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 Not all companies can or will sponsor visas, so start by targeting those that do. Use platforms like: ⭐ MyVisaJobs.com (for sponsorship trends) - https://lnkd.in/eC7W8Bsu ⭐ H1BGrader (to check past sponsorships) - https://h1bgrader.com/ ⭐ Simplify and Handshake (filter for visa-friendly employers) - https://lnkd.in/eveZBcg2 ⭐ FrogHire.ai (helps international students find companies open to sponsorship) - https://lnkd.in/eEubGzFR 2️⃣ 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 & 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 Many roles have rolling deadlines, so apply ASAP! Don’t wait to mass apply. Apply within 7 days of the job posting going up. It’s not a hard rule, but it’s a good way to stay competitive. 3️⃣ 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐬 & 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 Your friend group can be a great resource for job leads and company insights. Back in college, my friends and I would recommend each other to recruiters and share our knowledge of companies that sponsored international students. If you don’t know someone at the company yet, a warm referral can really help your application stand out. 4️⃣ 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 & 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 ⭐ Engage with company recruiters on LinkedIn. ⭐ Find professionals in your field (working for the company of interest) and ask for informational interviews. ⭐ Join community centered or professional networking groups like ColorStack for additional support. 5️⃣ 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 If traditional internships are limited, consider: ⭐ Research assistant roles at your university or other universities. ⭐ Micro-internships with Parker Dewey - https://lnkd.in/ekQxh6_E. ⭐ Summer research programs. See list here: https://lnkd.in/eJWieBN9 To get you started, here are some non-FAANG companies known to hire international students:  🌸 Salesforce 🌸 Bandwidth Inc. 🌸 Eli Lilly and Company 🌸 EBSCO Information Services 🌸 Cisco 🌸 EY 🌸 Deloitte 🌸 Dell Technologies 🌸 HubSpot 🌸 Duolingo 🌸 IBM 🌸 Slack 🌸 Amgen 🌸 The Home Depot 🌸 ServiceNow 🌸 DEKA Research & Development You can also follow Put Me On to see new roles that opened recently. 💬 If you know other companies open to hiring international students, drop them in the comments. You never know who you’ll be helping. If you’re an international student still searching, don’t get discouraged! Roles keep opening daily. Stay proactive and remember, I’m rooting for you 💙 #putmeon #internationalstudent #hiring #internships #college #studentsoflinkedin #jobs

Summer 2026 internship recruiting is already moving FAST. don’t let it catch you off guard. I remember the stress of last season. so many roles, so much noise, and advice that rarely works in real life. So here are the exact strategies and tools I used to survive (and thrive) during recruiting: 1. Apply ASAP like, within HOURS of postings. I set up calendar reminders for application drops. Why? Because roles at top companies fill up fast and early birds really do get the interview. - intern-list from Jobright.ai: This is my favorite all-in-one board for finding open roles, sortable by role. intern-list.com - Internships Repo from Simplify : Updated daily by students. Refresh this religiously for the latest drops: https://lnkd.in/guntbVEt 2. Automate the busywork let tech do the heavy lifting. Simplify automatically fills out internship applications to save hours and cut down on mistakes. Seriously, I wouldn’t apply without it. simplify.jobs 3. Method to find the freshest postings. Go to LinkedIn, search for your desired role, filter by "Date Posted." Now, in the URL, change 86400 (last 24 hours) to 7200 (last 2 hours). This shows only just-posted jobs. Sounds small, but I landed interviews this way that most people missed entirely. 4. Don't ignore the behavioral Exponent & Interview Prepper Exponent: Role-specific question banks for behavioral and technical interviews, especially for PM/SWE. Insanely useful for real interview prep. https://lnkd.in/gnzGVf2V Interview Prepper: An all-in-one platform for personalized interview plans, company guides, daily prep games, and a new AI coding evaluator. I made this so people wouldn’t have to piece together 50 different resources. now everything’s in one spot. www.interviewprepper.co 5. Track everything don’t let any opportunity slip. After every application, I recorded: company, date, position, what I sent, and when to follow up. Tracking helped me follow up at the right times and see what actually worked for me. 💡REMEMBER: Recruiting is tough and rejection is normal, but you only need one yes. If you have questions or need help starting out, drop a comment or DM me. I’ll respond to every single one. You’ve got this. Don’t let the early crowd run laps around you. lock in, prep smart, and shoot your shot.

I landed my first internship at a Fortune 100 with NO prior work experience. Everyone has to start somewhere, but what the #&%@ do you put on a resume when you have no work experience? 😂 Here's what I did & how you can replicate it ⬇️ Getting the first internship [or first job] is, in my opinion, one of the hardest you'll ever do in your career. It's a perpetual "chicken before the egg" problem ~ how do you get experience if everyone requires prior experience? The reality that no one talks about is that you can't apply to a role with a blank/empty resume, so you have to get *some* form of experience. This is the step that people often skip over: resume *building*. Here are three areas you can build your resume in, all of which I have done: 🛠️ Project experience -- projects are the EASIEST way to gain experience since you don't need anyone's permission, approval, or supervision to do it. Here are some example projects for different career paths ~ mobile & web apps (software engineering), investment memo or thesis (venture capital), product prototype/design, and strategy (product management). 🛠️ Competition experience -- want to test your abilities under pressure? And potentially win awards & cash prizes? Enter competitions! I won $12K+ from hackathons (SWE/PM), engineering pitch competitions (ENGR/Biz), startup pitch competitions (PM/Biz) and case competitions (Consulting). 🛠️ Work *Lite* experience -- fellowships, externships, micro-internships, etc. Basically, any form of "relevant" experience. These types of opportunities typically have less competition, can be slightly easier to attain, and don't have the same type of requirements/requisites as internships and full-time roles. You have to start somewhere; not only will these experiences fill your resume, but they'll also give you more confidence in the job search! Once you've built your resume, write it like a pro using these guidelines: ✅ Use the Google XYZ method ~ this is like the golden rule for resumes, and it goes, "Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]." ✅ Use your resume to TELL A STORY ~ use descriptive adjectives, strong verbs, and consistent bullet points to create a cohesive story that makes you look like THE perfect candidate for the job. ✅ Use an ATS-friendly format ~ this isn't too difficult, but it's a HUGE stumbling block for applicants. If your resume can't be read by an ATS, you will likely get auto-rejected. 😳 🧠 Want to avoid the mistakes I made & see THE resume that got me my first internship at an F100 with NO work experience? Comment your email & I'll send a copy straight to your inbox! 📥 #internships #earlycareer #newgrad #summerinternship

Everyone has been asking me how to get offers at companies like Dell & Tesla I don't go to a top 500 school. I'm an immigrant, so I don’t have uncles at these companies. But I still landed internships at Dell and Tesla, here's how: 1. Hustle, Hustle, Hustle - When I was a freshman, I did everything on campus. Joined every organization, went to every career event, signed up for LinkedIn, Handshake, and even some random platforms my school pushed. This helped to get the attention of professors and faculty. So when a national competition came up (HBCU Battle of the Brains), they nominated me to represent the school. We ended up placing 2nd nationwide, Dell was a sponsor, and a recruiter passed my resume to a hiring manager. That’s how I got the internship. 2. Projects - Do interesting stuff. I'm CEO of Sorce, so I’ve seen thousands of resumes. Everyone has a LangChain chatbot now - that won’t make you stand out. My Tesla manager said the only reason he interviewed me was because of a side project: a tool for detecting AI-generated text right after ChatGPT launched. Do projects that you care about and is interesting. Even better, work on something that's useful and people use. 3. Conferences - Go to conferences and hustle. I got the Tesla internship by handing my resume to a Tesla recruiter at AFROTECH - simple as that. I didn’t even think I was going to be a top candidate, but I shot my shot. Attend every conference you can. Sneak in if you have to. No shame in trying. 4. Numbers - Don't forget the numbers game. Every new application you send is a new shot at goal and increases your odds of getting the internship. It's a marathon. So keep applying for roles, keep connecting with people on linkedin and keep editing your resume. This is also why we built https://lnkd.in/etr6msZG, it's basically AI to help you apply for jobs faster. If there's any other tip I might have missed, please add it in the comments! If you liked this, repost.

Still looking for a summer internship? This past semester, I decided I wanted a part-time internship just one week before the spring semester began. With fewer than 15 applications, I landed 3 interviews and received 2 offers. Here is how I did it. 1. I focused on startups and on-campus jobs  🔹 Startups hire year-round  🔹 They have flexible timelines and quicker interview processes  🔹 They often value skills over experience, perfect if you’re just starting out 2. I mainly used Handshake, strategically  🔹 Filter for roles posted within the last 3 days, and prioritize ones you’re a strong fit for  🔹 If it’s older but aligns well with your background, apply anyway, they might consider you for another similar role  🔹 After applying, go to the job posting, click on the company name, scroll to the People section, and message someone who was recently active 💡 𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘱, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 💬 Keep it short (3–4 sentences):  → Introduce yourself and share why you’re interested  → Highlight how you’re a strong match (use keywords from the job description)  If it helps, I’m happy to share an example of a message I sent. 3. I explored nonprofits and local organizations  You can use Handshake for this too:  🔎 Go to the Employers tab  📍 Filter by location, industry, and company size  🏠 Look for organizations near your hometown If one stands out:  🔹 Check their website for contact info and send a cold email  🔹 Or find someone on LinkedIn and message them directly A short, personalized message can go a long way, even if they’re not actively hiring. This worked for me, even on a late timeline, and I hope it helps someone else who’s still searching! Good Luck! 📷 Just me, Donald, and Goofy casually starting the summer off right. ✨

How I prepared for my UX design interview at Electronic Arts (EA) that helped me land the job! I’d look at their mission, customers, competitors, and products when preparing for company-specific interviews. I’d then bring in specific examples from my experiences that relate to that. For example, for gaming company interviews, I emphasized the areas of my projects that relate to gaming and the gamer demographic. I also researched the games industry and wrote down some trends that I'm most excited about, why, and (if applicable) how it relates to my past work. I specifically prepared: ⭐️ 2 case studies to present on my portfolio (so they can scroll through before the interview) and slides to present during the interview. I used my projects (Cell-fie and Discord Bookmarks - link below). ⭐️ A doc of the commonly asked behavioral questions with answers in the STAR method. I’d look through Glassdoor to see what has been asked in the past. Do bullet points so it sounds like you’re not reading off a script. ⭐️ Practiced critiquing the top most popular apps for app critique interviews. Specifically, I’d analyze the visual design, interaction design, business model, and why I think the team who made the app made the decisions they did (focus on the “why” instead of the “what”) ⭐️ Practiced presenting my case studies (to non-designers and designers) and ran through mock interviews with designers in the Design Buddies Discord community. You can also ask your recruiter and hiring manager what to prepare! They want you to win because hiring is expensive. — RESOURCES!  👩🏻💻 My portfolio + case studies that you’re welcome to reference. I haven’t updated my product design side because I haven’t interviewed for a job since 2020, but this worked for me: https://grace-ling.com 🐰 If you like more design/career content, you’ll enjoy Design Buddies Discord and newsletter. https://lnkd.in/gkxHBgv  https://lnkd.in/gYqmHxaM 💡 10 week design project cohort if you need some real world UX design experience to add to your portfolio, staring mid February. We added another cohort because we keep filling up. https://lnkd.in/gy2JEpcU — 💬 What other topics in UX & career do y'all need help on? #UX #UXDesign #ProductDesign #JobSearch #DesignJobs