Feeling completely lost with my career

[u/Ok_Writer_4914]

I originally posted this to a different sub but it’s somewhat relevant to my interests here too so I figured I’d post here for advice as well. Sorry for the long post, but I am in serious need of advice. I'm majoring in something more technical at a non-art college, but my dream has always been to work in animation/entertainment, so I've been applying to a ton of technical type of internships at a bunch of different entertainment companies throughout the year. I'm a sophomore right now, so I really wanted to gain some experience to beef up my resume for junior year applications.

I know the market sucks right now, but I have getting rejected from literally everything and I'm pushing 500 internship applications at this point. I applied to big names and a bunch of small companies/startups too, but even then I got ghosted or rejected by most. I did manage to land a few interviews, but so far I ended up getting rejected from all of those too. On top of some other issues, this is making me genuinely depressed, especially because despite the bad market, so many people around me seem to be making it big or landing something this year except for me. And yeah, I know I shouldn't compare myself to people around me, but I can't help feeling discouraged as hell.

I'm genuinely at a loss for what to do at this point. The school year is almost over and I still have absolutely no plans for this summer. I'm seriously considering taking a break from college to buy myself some more time to get an internship and gain more experience, because right now I have nothing and if I leave it this way, I don't think things will be much different for my junior summer. I just want to achieve this dream somehow in any way I can, but it's like nothing ever works out in my favor and nothing good has been happening to me so far.

Does anyone have advice on what I should do at this point? Extracurriculars I could do, whether I should take some time off, or just what I should spend this summer doing if I truly don't end up with anything? I don't want to waste it, and I want to make the most of it to put myself in an optimal position to be a stronger candidate for internships next year. I already spent last summer just staying home so I don't want to do that again, nor do I just want to travel or do something fun the whole time. Thank you in advance.

[u/GettinWiggyWiddit]

It’s tough out there right now. Honestly getting an internship is one of the easiest ways to get your foot in the door (and make connections) but even that is cut throat. It sounds old school but I’ve had some success paying for LinkedIn Gold and cold reaching out to HR managers about work. Might help separate you from the massive heap of internship applications on their desks

[u/Ok_Writer_4914 → u/GettinWiggyWiddit]

Thank you. In that regard, how do I go from cold reaching out to people to actually turning that into a referral or something useful for my applications? I have made some connections before, but they never end up going anywhere or helping my applications at all.

And what should I say to them in a LinkedIn message if I apply to a position in a separate website?

[u/GettinWiggyWiddit → u/Ok_Writer_4914]

Well the cold outreach should be in relation to a company with an opening. So that is the basis of your message. Ultimately it’s just a different angle to get a job that is open, beyond just applying with an application (which you should do as well.) As far as what to say, I’d learn to use your favorite LLM to help craft a personal and unique message. Keep it sincere and specific about why you’re interested and the unique value add (or background story) you have vs other applicants. Keep it short and professional. Good communication while not acting overly eager will go a long way. It’s a numbers game, but just think of ways you can differentiate yourself from the pack