With Summer 2026 approaching faster than ever, many Carleton students are in the thick of applications for various internships and other paid positions. While some students have already secured jobs or programs that align with their major and future career goals and others wait with bated breath for application results to come back, other Carls are realizing that now is the time to lock in some sort of employment, whatever it might be.
“Originally, I had planned to work in this really cool science lab. They rejected me, they said I ‘needed eight years of undergraduate college-level research experiences and also needed to speak Japanese, Klingon and hieroglyphics,” said Anita Jobb ‘27. “Then I TRIED to apply to a couple of summer camps and schools, because I thought that is pretty close to what I want as a bio major, but then I realized that the deadlines for those were January 15, not February 15. Oh well. So a couple of frenzied Handshake- and Indeed-applying sessions later, I’m now the receptionist at a brick-laying company. I guess the bricks are laid outside and there is biology out there, right?”
Other students shared Jobb’s sentiment. Of the 15 students interviewed by The Carletonian, two reported receiving internship offers from employers they were excited about, another five said they secured a job offer that was not their first choice, and the other eight told us to shut up because they were in a virtual interview with the ninth-biggest tire hubcap manufacturer in Cleveland, Ohio, and “it’s a really competitive program so I need this to go well because I can’t just mow lawns for my parents’ friends all summer.”
The Carleton Career center has emphasized that students need to look in unique places for possible resume-builders. Career Coach Link Eddin said that “at first, Carls should look for employment opportunities that are related to their future goals and add something new to their resume. If they can’t find that, search for any sort of position that is related to a skill they want to develop. And if that doesn’t work, they should close their eyes and scroll on Handshake for 30 seconds, then pick the first job that pops up. Cedar Valley Bible Camp is paying $12/hour! You’re Jewish, so what? Close enough.”
