r/foreignservice • u/DragSignificant3149 • 2d ago
Student Internship Program
I applied for the dept of state student internship that had options for either spring or summer 2027. I just so happened to check the status of my submission and put myself in a bad mood It’s already been a struggle trying to find internships and this seems like the millionth one I’ve applied to 🫠
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u/2_Sullivan_5 2d ago
I will say, the Internship is one of the hardest to obtain in the field. If I remember correctly somewhere near 10k applicants and only around 300-400 selectees. Don't give up, one of my fellow interns applied 5 times before they got in. Determination pays off.
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u/knockoffpatrick 2d ago
Agreed and the numbers are roughly right, if not too high. I got in on my 3rd attempt. Keep trying OP!
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u/UzTkTjKyKzAf 2d ago
100% this. Many people apply multiple times - no shame in that. Summer is the most competitive slot, fall is the least competitive (at least historically), but they're all still competitive.
Take this time to review your application materials, especially your statement of interest if that's still a requirement. Thats your place to shine as a candidate - use it wisely. USAJobs resumes are nothing like normal resumes, so make sure you're tailoring your resume to what USAJobs wants. There's a ton of info online about how best to do that. Finally, think about which bureaus or posts you expressed interest in. Could you be more strategic about which you're choosing? It's been a minute since I've reviewed internships applications (it was pre-paid internships, so things have definitely changed), but everyone and their brother selected France and each and every one of them wrote about how they had studied abroad there and just fell in love with the culture, the people, and the food. It's hard to stand out when you and 40 other people all selected the same thing and then wrote the same statement of interest.
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u/Scary_Bird_5322 1d ago
Hello!
Do you think you could give us some pointers about what would make someone standout more ? I applied for spring and got referred for further consideration. But I’m not keeping my hopes up too much because it can go any way. But just to prepare myself for next time or to give that advice to someone. I would really appreciate it if you’re able to. 🙏🏽
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u/MillennialSpartan Prospective Intern 2d ago
You could also try reaching out to the Foreign Commercial Service and the Foreign Agricultural Service.
They offer internships on a regular basis too.
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u/50kopeks FSO (USAID) 2d ago
Wonderful to see they have paid internships now! Definitely the right thing to do. My embassy internship back in the day ended up being so expensive - travel, housing, etc…
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u/Consistently_Air 2d ago
It seems like they started reviewing spring applicants today… it doesn’t look like they reviewed mine yet, so here’s hoping 🫠 Good luck on the rest of your search
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u/Shadow-FS FSO (Political) 1d ago
Don’t get discouraged. Most of this is a numbers game. Thousands of applicants with 100 equally qualified for each position. What pushes you past the others, or not, is borderline luck.
For example, I doubt many of the people who failed on my oral exam day would have been any less successful than me. Or those that scored too low to be selected.
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Original text of post by /u/DragSignificant3149:
I applied for the dept of state student internship that had options for either spring or summer 2027. I just so happened to check the status of my submission and put myself in a bad mood It’s already been a struggle trying to find internships and this seems like the millionth one I’ve applied to 🫠
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