Today I learned two secrets to obtaining my dream internship: professional stalking and polite pestering. I’ve heard that normally you shouldn’t reveal that you’ve gone through your crush’s Instagram feed over 20 times, but from an academic perspective this might not be a bad idea. During this discussion, I felt genuinely glad, and somewhat proud, that one skill that I have honed on in since eighth grade can be put into use in an academic setting. However, instead checking what Daniel Brown’s dream car is from some Facebook photos, I should concentrate on what kind of research a professor is doing or what specific projects a company is currently in the midst of developing, so that I can demonstrate my genuine interest in the position as I’m applying. Furthermore, I discovered that following up with an application a couple weeks after an interview (or “double-texting” as we call it in the industry) is not only a great vehicle to demonstrate persistent interest in the position, but also a sly technique to check if you need to send more information to the interviewer! Overall, I’m relieved to say that some of my somewhat embarrassing stalking skills and pestering texting habits will actually come in handy to potentially land me an internship for this summer!