Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
The Ivey Career Management Podcast shares practical career advice, alumni insights, and expert perspectives to help Ivey students and graduates navigate their careers with confidence.
IVEY CAREER MANAGEMENT PODCAST
"What Do I Do If I Haven't Landed a Summer Internship?"�Featuring Angela
NARRATOR:�Welcome to the Ivey Career Management Podcast. Today we're stepping out of the studio to bring you stories and strategies from students, special guests, and the Career Management team. While we find a quiet space, make yourself comfortable and let's get started.
KATE:�On today's episode, we're addressing the stress of still seeking roles in the months of April, May, and June. If a student hasn't landed an internship or full-time role as exams finish, many tend to panic. And in fact, the most popular episode of this podcast series is Marco's "What do I do if I haven't landed a summer internship?" with over 580 unique viewers.
We're revisiting that question today. And before we do, I'd like to offer some data to reassure our current students that it will be okay.
Number one, both our HBA1 and our HBA2 students are outperforming the past two years of their cohorts for the number of offers accepted by about 30%. This is true as of end of March 2026.
Number two, our MSc BA internships are also ahead of last year's numbers. And last year everyone found a placement.
Third, our MBA cohort is slightly outpacing last year's accepted offers, and historically, most MBA graduates land roles between March and August.
No matter your cohort, the message here is to keep going. Let's hear from one of Ivey's best and brightest on how they navigated landing roles later than expected, and what made that better than they expected.
(beat)
Angela, thank you so much for being here. Can you please introduce yourself?
ANGELA:�Sounds good. Hi everyone. My name is Angela. My pronouns are she/her, and I finished my year of HBA1 and am entering HBA2 in the fall.
KATE:�What were your plans for summer 2025 and when did you figure them out?
ANGELA:�My original plan in summer 2025 was to accept a position at a nonprofit in BC as an economic development intern and work that for the beginning of the summer and then maybe after completed, go on vacation, spend time with friends and family. But there has been a little bit of a deviation from that plan, because right now, in May, I'm still working at the place I was originally working at the beginning, but then I'm also working as an accounting intern at a local firm. And I tend to do that until the end of the summer. And navigating that has been very interesting, to say the least.
KATE:�And your original plan was have some time off, lean into vacation mode. What happened there?
ANGELA:�I got two offers to interview for different firms around two months into my first internship, and I was very nervous about that. But I ended up taking both interviews, negotiating June start dates for both. And when I received both offers, I booked a meeting with Career Management to discuss my options to see what would be best. And then I ended up choosing the accounting internship and have been there since, and it's been so great.
KATE:�What were some of the pieces that helped you choose the accounting internship? Why was that important to you?
ANGELA:�I wanted to learn more about the industry, and I didn't really have a lot of hands-on experience, only just what we've learned in class. And so I loved both firms. I loved the position of both firms, and I was so excited about both of those positions. But I inevitably made the decision that I wanted to explore the industry. And that was the biggest thing that led me to making the decision.
KATE:�Okay. And here you are now, exploring that industry for the rest of your summer. If you were to think back, all the way back to last September when you were starting your time at Ivey, what were some of the highs and lows of the recruitment journey for you?
ANGELA:�The biggest low is just applying job after job and getting rejected or ghosted. And it is really draining because for me there's that personal ego element and I feel like I'm not good enough sometimes because I'm really passionate and excited to work at this firm and I think my credentials line up well. But then, no shot. So it definitely got a little frustrating and draining, especially during the school year. Things not working out. I'm doing everything Career Management's telling me to do. I'm booking meetings. I'm "putting in the effort," so to speak.
KATE:�But it's not yielding the results; I guess that's what you could call it. You're not seeing that return on investment.
ANGELA:�There we go. Yeah. And like you say, you are putting a lot of time, effort. You're doing everything right. We don't consider how much mental energy and time is spent around recruiting, especially here at Ivey. And it's just always at the back of your mind. When you finish a class, you go home, you're doing extracurriculars or cooking, and you're like, "Did they get back to me yet?" It's just a little draining. It's always there.
But on the highs, I definitely really appreciated the strategy of, I personally batch recruited. So I know a lot of my friends did one resume a day, but I found a lot more success, and just, good for my mental health, to batch. So I would do a lot of recruiting for maybe one week, two weeks. And then I would wait to hear back from the interviews, or rejections. And then I would take a break during that time, and then I would jump back on it again for another two weeks.
And I found that that gave me a little bit more to look forward to, if that makes sense, because last year was very stressful, where I was just applying a bunch a day and it was always on my mind and there's never a break. So that definitely worked out. That for me was a personal high.
And then I think another high, only the unconventional, was actually learning about the internships, because obviously when you're applying or crafting the cover letter, if you're reaching out and doing research about the industry, about the firm, it's really exciting in a way, because you're super curious and you have a better understanding of what your pathway could look like in the future. And that was really exciting for me.
KATE:�I imagine some students might be curious about trying that approach, but one of the barriers might be that fear of missing out. How did you kind of set those boundaries for yourself, or set up the space so that there wouldn't be that fear of missing out creeping in and luring you back to applying during those downtimes?
ANGELA:�I think the biggest thing for me was I saw how much of a hit it took on my mental health to be applying every day and to be exclusively thinking about those jobs. And I personally believe that there are a wealth of opportunities available. And if we always focused on the fear of missing out, not even just in the recruitment process, but just in life in general, we're not going to be able to live full and happy lives. And so for me personally, that was enough of a motivator to be able to take that time away.
But I definitely resonate with the fear of missing out, especially when a lot of your peers are landing really early. And so part of it was being attributed to maybe they were applying every day. And I wasn't doing that. And I don't know. So I have no perfect answer to that. But those are just some thoughts.
KATE:�And you turned out okay; in fact, better than okay! One of my colleagues, Alex, whenever we talk about fear of missing out, he responds with: there can also be a�joy�of missing out. That idea that by not being involved in that thing, you have other joys, other opportunities. And so using that reframe, I'm hearing, Angela, for you, there was a joy, maybe not joy in missing out. There was rest. There was time to recoup, to balance yourself and re-energize so that you could reenter and do what you needed to do.
ANGELA:�Perfectly said. Thank you, Kate.
KATE:�Okay, well, and correct me if it's not. All right. So, knowing that there are highs and lows for everybody, who and what helped you keep going, in addition to taking those breaks?
ANGELA:�Oh, okay. So definitely for me it would be detaching who I am and my self-worth from the recruitment process. And so just reiterating to myself and trying to be a little bit more confident in who I am. For me, that would manifest as saying, "Okay, it's not me." I recognize it's a system; it's a really competitive job market. There are a lot of opportunities and a lot of amazing candidates. And it's just not about you. Removing the self, and removing those ego hits, really helped me.
And then also, I think, being a little bit more honest about the jobs that I wanted to apply to, rather than what I thought I was "supposed" to be applying to. That was also really big, because I think at the beginning I thought I had this pressure to apply to every single job that came on any of these websites. Especially if they were the "traditional" Ivey jobs that you were "supposed" to have. And you can say it. I don't really know who put those expectations on me. I don't think I was passionate about either of those jobs.
And so I slowly leaned away from that and started to exclusively apply and focus in on sustainability and policy. And once again, there is that element of FOMO. Because you're wondering that maybe if you're applying to a smaller quantity of jobs compared to your peers, or if you're not following what Career Management told you, there's a little nervousness around that. But I think it kept me going and it kept me excited about the jobs that I was applying to and the potential opportunities.
KATE:�How did it feel when you landed that first internship, and what was the value alignment like?
ANGELA:�I was so happy. My partner and all my friends, I was just rambling and I said, "This is exactly what I want to be doing. The job description is perfect. I didn't think I was going to get it. I love the team. I love the organization, the environment, and I'm so excited." And none of my friends have ever seen someone so excited about a job, because I think traditionally a lot of my friends are like, "Hey, the pay is good. I guess I like the people. I'm excited, we'll be working at a prestigious firm." And then I'm over here in the corner like, "It's awesome! I'm so excited!" So it was definitely a little jarring. But yeah, the value alignment was perfect. And the only reason it was perfect was because I did that initial seeding out when I was first applying.
KATE:�I should point out, in our Success, Career Management Essentials class, which not all of our HBAs take, but all of our MSc and all of our MBA students take, we talk about the different ways of measuring success or different values that we attribute to meaningful, impactful work. And there is no right or wrong way to assess the work that you do! There's no right or wrong way to show excitement in it. And it sounds like, Angela, for you, the value alignment was strong. The impact so much lined up for you between what you wanted to do and the position you got. And it sounds like part of that was you being really clear on what you wanted to do, the types of values, the way you wanted to work. And so when it came along, it was a perfect fit.
ANGELA:�And you couldn't have said it better myself.
KATE:�Okay. And sorry, I sidetracked us a little bit. We were talking about who and what kept you going.
ANGELA:�Yes. Okay. Love the sidetrack. Totally awesome. I think my last point for that question would be unsubscribing from meritocracy and just realizing that sometimes you put in a lot of effort and you work hard, but it doesn't mean that you're entitled to certain things. And that we are working in a system that maybe isn't as transparent and easy to navigate. And everyone comes with their own circumstances. So just trying to not be too hard on yourself and recognizing that you're in an individual situation and that is okay. I think that's also one of my biggest things that kept me going.
KATE:�And when you mentioned the piece of meritocracy, that idea of if you put effort in, you will get something back out, was that something that you learned during your time at Ivey? Did you have that before?
ANGELA:�Yeah, I feel like Ivey has definitely, a lot of things are built upon an understanding of "work hard, play hard," that there will be that ROI, as you said earlier. But it's something, especially during my time taking a few sociology classes, preparing and learning more about systemic inequality and having a better understanding of various social sciences and the levers that act on our world and the various lenses of inequality, that meritocracy is bad. It does not exist. Don't subscribe to it. Unsubscribe. And bringing that into the way that I apply for jobs, the way that I interact with my peers and my community, I think has been really important and has helped keep me going.
KATE:�What advice would you have around recruitment in general?
ANGELA:�I think the biggest one would have to be focusing on your own values and trying to figure out what problems you want to solve, and recognizing that recruiting is a perfect time to test, iterate, learn about those companies and see if that's something you want to be a part of.
And another would definitely be using this opportunity to try to learn more about the industry. Find out what you want to do. Focus on you rather than focusing on what the rest of your peers are doing or what you think you should be doing. I think that pressure definitely caves in, especially here at Ivey. So not being afraid to go off on your own path, and to do a little bit of investigating, even if it's unconventional and you think that no one else is in the position you're in.
Also, reaching out, trying to find a community and people who are. Because I guarantee that if you're interested in an industry or if you're skeptical about something, there's definitely a community here at Ivey, and even outside of Ivey, that resonates with that. And you are definitely not alone on the recruiting journey. But even on your own specific recruiting journey, you're never alone.
KATE:�Absolutely. And I love that we got to talk to Marco about this topic last year. We're talking to you about this topic this year. No doubt we will have other students in future, but it's an important topic to give voice to.
And I'll tweak my question a little bit for you, Angela. If you could give advice to students who, like yourself, were recruiting into the spring, maybe April or later into spring, who are feeling really frustrated, tired, maybe panicked, what would you say to those students?
ANGELA:�That's a great question, Kate. And also really compassionate. Insightful, because I wish that someone gave me advice on that earlier as well.
So I guess it would be: it's not over till it's over. That was the biggest piece for me. And it's 150%, 300, 3,000% going to be okay. I know that for a fact. It's going to be okay for you. It's going to be okay for anyone in that situation. And I would just encourage that person to keep putting in that effort, being compassionate to themselves, and trying their best. And if they're able to hit all three of those, that's awesome. That's all I can ask.
And I think the biggest thing also is your internship isn't the end, right? It isn't this end-all, be-all. There's so many other things you can do with your summer. There's so many other paths that people have taken to be in the positions that they're in. And there is no "correct" decision.
I learned that talking with alumni; everyone's journey is so different. People are taking gap years. People are working retail and doing other things with their time. A lot of my friends are volunteering and finding a lot of fulfillment in that, and then working a retail job, for example. And it's just, when you detach yourself from how Ivey might define success, how your peers might define success, and you really try to hone in on what you think would be good for you, maybe finding this internship doesn't perfectly align with that.
And so even if I, for example, hadn't landed these internships for the summer, I still think there would have been a wealth of opportunities outside of them. And it's 100% going to be okay. And no one in your friend circle should ever think less of you if you didn't land an internship. It's okay. Just keep being a cool person. Keep trying your best.
KATE:�You had a couple of different ideas of things you would have done in the summer if you had stuck with just the one internship. I know you had mentioned travel. What other things were you thinking about doing?
ANGELA:�I think the biggest one for me was I wanted to spend time reaching out to local organizations in London. I really want to volunteer. This year, I think another thing I was really excited to do is, I have so many side projects that I've been putting off. I have a lot of birthday gifts I have to start crafting now. I put them off in the school year. And I was genuinely really excited about those. And obviously spending time with family, reconnecting with friends back home, that was really important to me.
I still think that no matter which decision I made, I would have made the best of it either way. And that's very much, you know, it's going to be okay, once again.
KATE:�Agreed. Agreed. Career Management also agrees with that. There are so many different ways people can build their experiences and spend their time well. It's often not about making one right decision, but thinking about, again, what you want to learn, what you want to do, what you want to use that time for. And there's no wrong answer to those things.
And of course, if students are ever unsure, coming and talking to Career Management to offer that validation, support, and help folks feel more confident in their decision-making, or ask the questions to help folks make sure that they're feeling good about their path, whatever that path may be. And ideally you have many paths in front of you. So that's a good problem to have. Much like when Angela had two offers, went from having no offers to then having two offers and a tough decision.
We mentioned earlier about the meritocracy piece, and you can put so much time and effort in and not necessarily get things back. And I want to offer our counterbalance to that. That's not me saying don't put time and effort in. But rather it means that we work smarter, not harder. And just be really intentional so that, as opposed to applying for everything, you get clear with yourself on what you do want, what you don't want. And sometimes having a frank discussion, with yourself, with a coach, with peers, can help clarify so that you're not acting out of what you think you should do, but acting out of what you truly want and what will take you to the places you want to be. Which is just what Angela did. So well done, Angela.
Thank you again so much for being here. We really appreciate hearing your journey.
ANGELA:�And thank you so much for doing this with me. I really appreciated your insights, and just, you leading me through the conversation was awesome. Thank you.
KATE:�Thank you for watching. If you'd like to see more podcast content, check out your Career Management community online. If you'd like to connect with Career Management, you can book a one-on-one appointment via 12Twenty or visit us in room 2235. Take good care.
END OF TRANSCRIPT