The Hustle Guide: Career Chat Explores How Teens Can Land Their First Internships, Mentorships and Jobs
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During a recent STEM Next Career Chat, teens from across the country got practical advice on landing internships, the importance of mentors, and what to expect in the earliest stages of their careers.
The conversation was hosted by STEM Next Flight Crew members Star and Frida, two college students who recently served as Flight Crew mentors.
The panel featured Jennie, a choreographer, educator and digital creator who now works at Apple, and Jasmine, a Fall 2026 Foundations Fellow with Panasonic’s Office of Social Impact & Inclusion and a first-year graduate student at New York University. Both have built careers that cross unexpected lines, from dance to tech and from political science to finance.
They shared how they found their first opportunities, what helps young people stand out and how to turn a cold email into a lasting mentorship.
Finding a Way In
In high school, Jasmine planned to become a lawyer. Jennie planned to become a professional ballerina. Neither ended up where they expected.
Jasmine, a first-generation college student from Jacksonville, Florida, started college as a pre-law major before new subjects pulled her toward finance and business. Jennie moved from professional dance into dance technology and university teaching before joining an Apple retail team. She is currently part of the Career Experience program, where talented team members serve on a new team in a different part of the company and expand their skills, while helping build stronger teams and collective success. In her Career Experience, she’s creating training content for the Operations team.
“You’re always building skills, and you never know when or where they can be of use,” Jennie said.
Both know what it feels like to start with a blank resume. Jasmine felt imposter syndrome around classmates who already understood investment banking. She closed the gap by networking and applying to every early-insight program she could find, even when she expected a rejection.
Jennie’s advice for getting your foot in the door was simple: volunteering. Look for chances to work on a team, where people can see your work ethic in action and speak to it later.
Standing Out and Making Connections
How do young people stand out beyond grades? When Jennie cast dancers, she watched the ones waiting at the edges of the room to see what they were doing and how they were interacting with their fellow candidates.
“That’s something that’s very, very important in any field of work, the character of the person, the work ethic. I get excited and inspired when it’s somebody who wants to be there, and they’re hungry to be there, and they get along with people,” she said.
Jasmine said her best interviews felt like conversations.
“My best interviews would just be about us just chit-chatting; they want to see your own uniqueness. That’s where you need to leverage that, because everybody can speak about what’s going on in the world, what’s going on with markets, but what unique view do you bring from that? What is your perspective? And then you need to be able to leverage your experiences as well as your studies,” she said.
Both panelists had the same rule for cold outreach to potential career mentors: keep it short. Jasmine opens with a shared connection, such as a school or hometown, and avoids messages that feel transactional.
From there, mentorship takes time. Asking for help is a one-time favor, Jennie said. A mentor is a relationship built on common ground and trust.
Turning a No Into Next Steps
Jennie’s own path to Apple began with a broken computer. While waiting for a repair, she struck up a conversation with the technician, who suggested she apply. But Jennie didn’t get into Apple’s Career Experience program on her first try. She asked the recruiters for feedback, applied it to her daily work and earned a spot the next time around.
“Where there’s a no, there will be a yes. So just keep going,” she said.
Jasmine, who faced her share of rejections in competitive finance, said she treats each one as a learning opportunity. She encouraged teens to cast a wide net, exploring different roles and industries before narrowing in on one path.
Jennie wishes someone had told her as a teen to focus on building relationships. When asked about networking, she said she doesn’t like that word, but rather emphasizes the connections you can make across many fields.
Her challenge for the week to young people listening in: pick up the phone. Call local programs, ask about opportunities for high schoolers and, when the answer is no, ask who else might help.
“The biggest thing is don’t be afraid,” she said.
For the teens tuning in, the message was clear: stay curious, talk to people and to keep going, no matter how tough rejection might feel.
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