Continental Airlines
Technology Intern - Business Analyst
I chose this internship for a few reasons. One of the main reasons was the reason that most people get an internship: experience in their field before they graduate. Also by possibly working for this company now I would better my chances in having a job after a graduate. I was also interested in the location of the company. Having never been to Texas I am also interested in finding out what it is like. Besides working for an airline company has to involve some sort of travel related perks.
Most of the other entry level job opportunities or internships that I found involved working a help desk. While I know it is a good place to start, I’d rather not spend my summer or really any matter of time asking people if their computer was plugged in.
Some of my classes have made me interested in systems development and systems analysis. This internship would be a great way to see if my interest that developed in the classroom carries over to the work force. The experience gained in this internship would definitely give me a foot hold on my way to becoming a systems analyst.
Currently my skills and experience with systems analysis is limited to the classes that I have taken. However this position includes some coding skills that I have had hands on experience with, albeit in the classroom. I’ve also come to realize through my coursework that I prefer the business side of technology rather than the programming/networking side. I find it much more interesting designing systems and finding ways that companies can use technology to be more efficient and productive than I do writing code.
While I do not enjoy the heavy coding that some careers and job positions might require, the SQL and HTML knowledge that this position requires would definitely be something that I could handle and even enjoy. Despite the fact that I am not familiar with all of the software that is mentioned in this ad, I find my self to be a quick learner and feel that I could easily pick up on it with little instruction.
However, this position also calls for the “ability to effectively interface with all levels of personnel and management”. My past few jobs have all been positions in supervisory roles. Being able to work with the people below you and for the people above you has been something that I have dealt with quite often. I feel that this would greatly enable me to not only communicate with management about a project but also enable me to communicate with the users the project is being designed for.
The position also requires strong oral and written communication skills. Having had to run meetings, do evaluations, and give presentations in past work and class room experiences would definitely prove valuable in communicating with the users to find out what they need as well as communicating with management on a projects progress.
Some people might think that taking a job with in airline company would be a poor decision. I believe that even though flights and services are being cut, the company will still need people to develop programs and applications to keep things running maybe even saving the company money. While Continental as well as all major airlines are likely to post major losses for 2008, with the dropping fuel prices this losses are likely to be recovered.
Also something I found that really interested me in the company was the fact that they are going to be testing a Boeing 737 powered with a 50/50 mix of jet fuel and a biofuel derived from algae (Environment Research Web 2009). As someone who is interested in alternative energy sources, I was very pleased to see Continental attempting something of this nature.
http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/apps/vendors/default.aspx?i=TECHNOL...
Continental Internship
Where is the Continental Internship located" I applied for a few internships with Southwest and actually have an interview with them on February 10th. I am pretty much in the same boat as you are even though I going for a flight oriented internship. I also have never been to Texas and would really like the opportunity to work down there for the summer. What opportunities do they have to offer if you do get it? Well, the best of luck with your application.
Instructor Feedback
You seem to have a pretty clear sense of both the position and the company (and the distinctions between the "business" end and the coding. I think your language of "finding ways that companies can use technology to be more efficient and productive" works well. What you need to do from here is to find concrete examples of the kinds of projects you have done that dovetail with the work you imagine you would do at Continental Airlines. In this analysis you write, "Having had to run meetings, do evaluations, and give presentations in past work and class room experiences would definitely prove valuable in communicating with the users to find out what they need as well as communicating with management on a projects progress." In a job letter you would need to pick one particular classroom experiences that articulates each of these facets. Take two or three sentences to describe a class project where you ran meetings, evaluated technologies and presented your findings. You want to show the person reading the letter how you work: let them see you at work.
To continue the work of successful job ad analysis you to connect their expectations with concrete details about yourself, your skills and your experiences. Again: be specific and let them see you at work.