Finding Professional Opportunities

There are many professional opportunities that meet the requirements of getting funding through the Summer Experience Grant (SEG). Yale’s Office of Career Strategy has the following tips as you start to search.

  • Determine which category(ies) within the SEG you are interested in spending your summer.
    The SEG categories are:
    • Arts Apprenticeship
    • Government
    • Nonprofit
    • Research
  • Consider whether you are seeking an opportunity within the U.S. or international. 
    • Please note that the SEG supports domestic professional experiences only.
    • If you are thinking about an international experience, refer to the Yale Office of Fellowships for other funding opportunities.
       

After you have narrowed down the above options, it’s time to start coming up with organizations that you would want to work for that are eligible for the SEG. Keep in mind that the positions need to be:

  1. Unpaid or underfunded; AND
  2. At least 30 hours/wk for at least 8 weeks.
SEG Professional Development requirements

1. Create Your Own Position

Knowing that as long as you and the proposed opportunity meet all of the eligibility requirements of the SEG, you will receive the funding, one approach for securing a position is to reach out to organizations of interest and let them know that you come with funding. This has been a very effective way for Yale students to secure internships at host organizations they are interested in. Many employers do not feel comfortable having an unpaid intern but if the intern comes with funding, then they may consider it. This allows you to create target lists of host organizations and reach out to them to see if they are interested. It also can allow you to play an active role in proposing what you will be doing during your internship, which allows you to gain experience and skills in the areas you want.

SEG sample cold emails

2. Apply to Established Opportunities that meet the SEG Requirements

Another approach is to conduct internship searches based on the requirements of the SEG. This would typically include utilizing job boards where you can filter for criteria such as specific industries or sectors (nonprofit, research, government, arts) as well as for unpaid positions. There are many job boards out there that could support this approach and it will likely be further narrowed down by the specific SEG category that you are interested in.

Yale Career Link

CareerShift

Nonprofit, Education, Environment & Sustainability, Policy & Think Tanks

STEMConnect

Arts

Media and Communications

OCS Federal Government Page (includes various listservs and job boards)

3. Utilize the Peer Networking Lists

OCS has lists of experiences Yalies have done in past summers. This data is easily searchable by a variety of filters including: class year, major, employer, industry, job function and much more. There is data going back for five years. These lists can be a beneficial tool to generate ideas and interest regarding which employers have hired Yale students. Find these Class Lists in Yale Career Link, within the Career Library.