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If you've been eyeing a Southwest Airlines internship, this one's for you. Manzel Chapman, a lead recruiter at Southwest, sent along some advice for students who are interested in their Campus Reach internships — whether you haven't applied yet or you're already waiting to hear back. Here's the rundown.
Haven't applied yet?
Head to Southwest's Campus Reach page to see what's open. There are 30 internships available, so take your time and find the one that fits your education, experience, interests, and career goals.
And please — read the entire job description before you apply. Qualifications vary from one internship to the next, so make sure you meet the requirements for the specific role you're going after.
Already applied? Here's what happens next
If you got your application confirmation, nice work — you've finished the most important first step.
Once applications close, the Recruiting Team reviews candidates against the qualifications for each internship. Southwest gets a lot of interest in Campus Reach, so give them time to work through everything.
If you're selected to move forward, they'll reach out about your next step. Watch the email address you applied with, and check your spam/junk folder too. You can read more about the candidate journey here.
How can you stand out?
According to Manzel, this is the biggest question recruiters get. A few tips:
- Tailor your resume to the internship. Make it easy for recruiters to see how your coursework, projects, past internships, jobs, campus involvement, and leadership connect to the role.
- Read the job description again. Seriously. Look closely at the responsibilities and qualifications, and make sure your resume clearly shows the relevant experience you already have.
- Don't sell yourself short because you're a student. Class projects, student orgs, volunteer work, leadership roles, case competitions, research, certifications, and personal projects all show your skills.
- Be specific. Don't just list what you were "responsible for." Show what you accomplished, contributed, improved, created, analyzed, or learned
- Research Southwest. If you get an interview, they want to get to know you — but be ready to explain why Southwest and why this internship.
- Be yourself. Your resume gets you into the conversation. Your experiences, preparation, personality, and passion show them who you are.
Connected with Manzel on LinkedIn? Fill out the Sourcing Form
Manzel will be the Primary Recruiter for some of Southwest's summer internships this year, so some of you who reached out on LinkedIn may end up in a phone screen with Manzel. That said, the 30 internships are spread across the whole Recruiting Team, so Manzel may not be the recruiter for the role you applied to.
Because of the volume, Manzel can't review every resume, give individual application updates, or meet 1:1 with everyone. Instead, Southwest now tracks LinkedIn connections in its Applicant Tracking System, so your conversation shows up internally and you stay top of mind.
To get on that radar:
- Fill out the Southwest Sourcing Form.
- Under "Who is the Sourcing Recruiter you've been discussing opportunities with," select Manzel Chapman.
That helps them match you with roles that fit your experience and goals.
While you wait
Learning more about Southwest is one of the best ways to prep in case you're invited to the next round:
Want to hear about future openings? Join Southwest's Talent Community to sign up for job alerts.
One last thing
Take a little pressure off yourself. You applied and put yourself out there — that's worth being proud of. Now let the Recruiting Team do their thing, and keep an eye on that inbox.
Good luck, future interns!
Southwest Airlines Recruiter, Bethani Culpepper, will be hosting a virtual session to promote their Campus Reach Internship & Early Career Programs. The virtual session will be hosted on Thursday, September 26th from 5:00-6:00 pm CT. Click the link below to register on Handshake to attend!
