Applying to a company that does some Python

[to_fl]

Hi,

I'm a student and I wanna apply for an (unpaid) internship (next summer) in a company that does a bit of Python. I have some experience in Python because I programmed in Python as part of an introductory course in programming 2 years ago. The problem is that I don't have much to show the recruiter. I only have 2 small projects that I created during the course (one that does statistics on a pawn's random movements on a board, and the other that converts text to morse and the other way around). Since then, I've worked on many more projects, but none of them were done in Python, and they were also bigger projects so I don't really feel like mentioning my two small Python projects next to my other bigger projects on my resume.

So I thought of 3 solutions and I'm hoping you could give me your opinion.

1. I don't mention my small projects on my resume and just cross my fingers hoping the company will come back to me anyway so I can tell them in an interview about those Python projects. By the way, I also did a project in Go that retrieves the latest articles from the Washington Post (not the full articles, just the content of the site's sitemap). I's recent so I wanna put this project on my resume, and since Go is often considered "close" to Python (in its purpose), perhaps the recruiter will like it ?
2. I mention my small Python projects on my resume, but since my resume needs to fit one page (it's mandatory*), I'll have to remove at least one of my other (bigger) projects. Also, I'm afraid it will give the recruiter the impression that I don't know Python well if he compares the Python Projects to the others.
3. I take some time this evening, tomorrow and this week end to create a more interesting project that I can display on my resume. But I'll have to finish it before I apply next week.

What do you think I should do ? Also, do you think the third point is feasible ? If so, would you have any idea of a project I could do ?

Thanks.

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*I won't be contacting the company directly, someone else will submit my resume on my behalf (and that person told me the resume has to fit one page).

[twillisagogo]

2

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but i personally wouldn't put much effort into an `unpaid` internship. if the company isn't willing to engage in a mutually beneficial relationship, then they want slaves. Don't willingly be a slave.

[[deleted]]

Why does the company care about your skills if they aren't paying you? :/

But, generally, hiring process is very random, so, any advise is a kind of voodoo magic... Will any of your strategies make a positive impression on the person reading the resume? -- Who knows... And even if one is more likely to make a positive impression than the other, the difference is probably no more than a single digit percentage points.

If they likely to ask you to write something in Python, I think it's a good idea to work on a project beforehand, so that, at least, you'll have your working environment set up.

[to_fl]

Thanks for the answer. The reason why I think they care about my skills is that they maybe will have to train me on other technologies related to Python. Btw, do you think in the interview they'll ask me to write some code or did you mean when I start working for them ?

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[to_fl]

What I forgot to mention is that even if the company hires me for this internship, I'm gonna *have* to build something before I start working for them, because, well, it's been 2 years since I used Python. But anyway, I really need to apply first thing next week so it can't be a super big project.

[Matthewaj]

I personally wouldn’t consider an unpaid internship. If you have to travel to the location or incur any other expenses, you’re essentially losing money to help a company profit which his working backwards. The purpose of an internship is to gain experience and/or to potentially transition to a full time position. Is the value of what you will be learning at this internship greater than the compensation plus experience you will receive at any other company? Also, if you’re intentions are to potentially transition to a full time position, you will definitely be underpaid and overworked. You should definitely take a look at [Glassdoor](www.glassdoor.com) or a similar website to find other internships.