According to Forbes, getting an internship is more competitive now than ever. Since the pandemic, layoffs have continued to rise affecting the amount of internships available. 

After three years of a global pandemic —which canceled internships, sent college students home to work remotely from their childhood bedrooms and finally, returned them to more than half-empty hybrid offices last year — 2023 might have marked the summer internship’s big return. 

Instead, it was a year of change with an unstable economy and mass layoffs, which has slowed the hiring of summer interns, sparking greater competition. 

Blake Serrano, a junior public relations major has been applying for internships since November 2023. He has applied to over 20 different internships and only had an interview for five of them. 

“It has been overwhelming just waiting to hear back from people,” Serrano said.

Kent State offers multiple career fairs and other events throughout the year on campus to give students more opportunities to network. These events can help students get their foot in the door with potential employers and provide face to face connections. 

The Public Relations Student Society of America at Kent (PRSSA) hosts an event in Spring called “Communications Connections” for students in the school of media and journalism and the school of business to connect and network professionals.

“I was able to have my resume reviewed and headshot taken at the Communications Connections event last year,” Kaitlyn Sanders, a junior public relations major, said. “I had the chance to speak with about a dozen alumni and employers.” 

Other opportunities include “Meet the Employers” events that are held throughout the year on campus for Kent State students and alumni who are looking for a job. There is one every week in April.  

Madison Goerl, a senior public relations student at Kent State, is currently in the process of applying to jobs for after graduation. She has done multiple informational interviews where employers are saying that April is going to be the time when most applications open, but these are likely to be gone within three weeks.

“We have to act fast to even be able to apply for the opportunity,” Goerl said. 

Julia Cumley is a reporter Contact her at [email protected].