Contrary to what you may think, summer intern positions with local businesses, are available and varied for interested students who act early.

Alyson Tuxworth, human resources manager with the law firm of Cox Hallett Wilkinson, advises students to consider the fields they may be interested in as a career.

"Summer placements really give students a closer look at a specific industry and afford them the chance to speak and work with individuals across an organisation about the many opportunities available to them," she said.

Mrs. Tuxworth strongly advises to "start looking early" for placements and says that the ideal time to apply is early Spring. "There's a lot of competition for placements, so those students who are organised and act early will be the ones to land an intern position of choice."

Making contacts can help you to get your placement of choice, and throughout the year school careers fairs are ideal for making those contacts. Remember, the people who attend careers fairs are interested in you (that's why they're there) so take the opportunity to ask questions about available positions and how you would go about applying for them. The Bermuda International Business Association (BIBA) hosts a great networking event every summer, with some companies actually giving intern positions as prizes.

Go surfing — World Wide Web surfing, that is. Most companies that do offer internships will give you some information and will provide a downloadable application form. If you don't find information on a website, call the company's human resources office to ask if they are offering placements, and if they are, how you would go about applying for one.

Cratonia Smith, one of the summer interns at the law firm of Cox Hallett Wilkinson, thinks she has benefited from having summer intern positions: "This position has placed me in direct contact with my career goals," she said. "Not only has it helped me decide that a career in the legal field is what I would like to do, but it has also helped while in school. Oftentimes I come across terms while I'm studying that I had already become familiar with while working at law firms over the summer. Also, participating in summer internships allows you to make great contacts in your field even before you finish schooling. This could help with finding a job later on — it looks great on your CV!"

"I would strongly suggest that anyone considering a career should participate in an internship in that field," she went on to say. "Even if after it is over and you decide not to go into that field, at least you would have had the experience and you can make the decision before it is too late!"

You can land the perfect summer intern position with a little bit of forward planning and initiative. So, go ahead, get out there, make those contacts and have a great "working" summer!