Ask HN: How could I have a summer internship with a tech startup | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How could I have a summer internship with a tech startup

4 pointstrospan7 comments

I'm a 1st year Computer Science student. I have an 8 average and I have programmed on my own in Node.js, Java (Android), C and others.

I'd like to have a summer internship with a tech startup, especially in Sillicon Valley (very hard, I know). I'm not American.

Could you give me some advice? Where should I look for the internship, what should I do?

Thank you very much!

View on HN

HN has a monthly "Who Is Hiring" post [1], made by the automated "whoishiring" hn user account [2] and you can always find the most recent post through the 'submitted' link [3]. Many of the companies listing available jobs also list available/potential internships. Also, some mention visa (H1B or similar) info.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11012044

[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=whoishiring

[3] https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring

Because you are not currently living in the US (implied by "I'm not American") you won't be able to go to tech gatherings and develop inside relationships with companies.

I suggest you gather a list of companies you want to intern at and send emails to all of them. Send emails to the founders and to specific people within the company, not a generic company wide email address. This ensure your communication is personal.

Some are bound to respond, and of those that respond some will offer you an interview and of those you can get an internship. Unless you have your eyes set on a specific company - which it seems like you don't - go broad.

Thank you for your suggestion.

Should I specifically target companies that use technologies that I know?

By the way, wouldn't I disturb if a send my applications to personal mails (to persons that I don't know)?

1) You should definitely leverage your existing networks 2) If you keep your email concise and to the point (read up about cold-emailing people), then most will respond. There is nothing wrong with seeking new opportunities and if people are disturbed they just won't answer you. It seems you are afraid of what other people think. Don't be. be confident and trust your intuition.

> I'm not American.

Apply for visas early. Make sure you don't apply to a company involved in aerospace or military projects, as these often only employ US citizens and protected individuals. That bit me when I tried.

Thank you. Should I apply for visa before having the employment contract?

No, you can only get the visa once you have a company willing to sponsor for it. For internships in US, you can apply for J-1 visa* which is an internship visa and it will require you to create a learning plan with the company that decides to hire you.

* IANAL and it might depend on the country you are from. I'm from Finland and had my internship under J-1 visa in 2014 in Silicon Valley startup.

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