Many students do not put as much effort into finding an internship as they do into getting good grades. While grades are important, many employers are more interested to know about your experiences, which include working as an intern.

You can find thousands of internships across the country on websites like internships.com, but truth be told, only a handful of them will give you the right exposure and experience. And getting them can be a challenge on its own, but it is not impossible.

Here are some practices that can help you get the ideal internship:

1. Find Fields with High Growth Projections

There is no harm in thinking long term and going into an occupation that will grow fast. You can even look for professions where the growth for women is even higher. In STEM fields, employers are increasingly interested in hiring women in order to diversify the working space.

2. Pick The Right Company

There are two things that could make an internship great: the work you will be doing and the company you will be doing this work at. An internship with a big company will not only give you the chance of employment at the very company in the future but also at any other competing firm.

2017 has been a great year for women in terms of opening the dialogue on the pay gap, prejudice, and workplace harassment. You should thoroughly research about the company and see their record in these matters and how they tend to their female employees.

[RELATED: How I Turned My Internship into a Full-Time Job]

3. Network

While there are plenty of opportunities to apply for online, if you have a strong network, you could bag a great internship in no time. Send your resume with a compelling cover letter to people you may know who work in big companies.

You could also enlist the help of a career center in your own college. And it never hurts to ask family and friends too.

4. Focus on Your Skills

An internship can help you ripen the skills you have developed during your college years. Focus on your strongest areas to make them even stronger. If there is something new you want to learn, go for an internship where you can do that.

If you follow the right steps and keep a look out for promising opportunities, you will be interning at a big company and learning new things in no time.

The Only Internship Guide You’ll Ever Need [INFOGRAPHIC]