There is a stereotype among young people: an internship is a useless waste of time, where you have to move documents from place to place, and do unnecessary work for 12 hours a day, for which you will not get paid later. Stories of free fruit and scooters in the office, informal style, meetups, and a coffee break with the CEO sometimes seem like a fantasy.
But no, they do exist. In this article, the essay writer will tell you where to look for such proposals and what you should pay attention to so that expectations and reality coincide. In addition to orange juice, you get more valuable experience and a bonus line on your resume, and maybe an offer for a permanent job.
Internship and Trainee – Understand the Concept
To begin with, let’s understand what an internship is and who may qualify for it and be called an intern. Often, an internship is understood as an industrial or pre-graduation internship. In this case, an agreement is signed between the employer and the educational institution. The university independently prepares documents, practice plans, and reports, sending the student to consolidate theoretical knowledge. As a rule, the trainee does not get paid. To apply for the internship, a student have to write an application and a resume. To get help with an application, you can take advantage of special online services such as writemypapers.me.
The internship, unlike the internship, is more often a personal initiative. The Labor Code does not explicitly define what an internship is and who an intern is. Employers formalize the employment relationship at their discretion.
Toward the Dream: Looking for an Internship Position
It’s worth starting with expectations: what you want to get after the internship. New acquaintances, knowledge, a line on your CV, or maybe some money? Write down the important criteria for you. It will help not be confused in a variety of “friendly and close-knit team” and “informal atmosphere. You don’t know what you want – that’s okay. Doing an internship with a friend for the company is also cool and useful.
Once you’ve decided on your goals, the question arises: where should a student look for an internship? Here are universal ways:
Official Company Websites
Banks, industrial and IT companies, consulting agencies, and large scientific and educational organizations often have a “careers” or “work for us” section. There you can find information about job openings and internships and understand salaries and bonuses for junior positions.
Company Groups on Social Media
Large brands are interested in recruiting talented young candidates, and companies create separate career departments for this purpose. These resources tell about career opportunities and prospects for students, invite them to participate in company events, and tell them about the benefits of working in different ways.
Job Fairs
In the days before the pandemic, job fairs were held in person at universities or city sites, and information about such events can be found on the institution’s booths or social media channels. Now job fairs are successfully held in an online format.
The advantage of fairs is personal communication. You can personally ask questions to the HR manager, for example, how to get an internship in the company, and you can get acquainted with several companies, leave contacts and resume.
Job Sites
Internships on job sites are not common, but they are there. Here it is necessary to understand what you are looking for and boldly enter the name of the specialty in the search bar. Searched the terms of work and chose those employers’ proposals, which are about internships during training.
How Else Can a Student Find an Internship?
There are many ways to achieve success. There is no single pattern. It happens so that employers ask the department to recommend talented students, organize their educational programs and invite the most diligent students after the course to undertake an internship. There are competitions for the most motivated, such as the Golden Internship.
Getting an Interview: How to Get an Internship
Finding the right internship is half the battle. Now let’s figure out how to get an internship for a student. If we talk about international companies, they traditionally conduct internships twice a year: summer and winter. Such companies’ selection stages and assessment criteria are standardized for all representative offices.
To get an internship in an international company, you usually need to go through a competitive multi-step selection process, which may include filling out an application form or CV, testing, and interviewing.
Tests can be either for assessing specific knowledge and abilities, such as knowledge of basic accounting or proficiency in a foreign language or for assessing a candidate’s potential. Such tasks are called aptitude tests. They include logical, verbal, and numerical questions.
To get into IT, you have to solve a special test assignment. Sometimes companies organize competitions, student Olympiads, and hackathons, where they look for talented young people. Do not neglect participation in such events. It is a great opportunity to get useful contacts and experience and prove yourself. But still, universal tools for selecting candidates for most companies are a resume and an interview.
How to Write a Resume for a Student
There are two common mistakes in the resumes of young candidates: too little information or, conversely, too much. You need a golden mean. HR-manager looks through dozens of resumes of candidates every day, and your resume should be catchy, capacious, and understandable. No one wants to read about the Olympiad in the 4th grade in science, but if you won the student Olympiad in your field of study – it is worth mentioning.
A properly drafted resume should take a couple of minutes to give the HR-manager answers to the questions:
- Whether you are the right person for the job – that is, whether your education and experience, to perform a certain type of task;
- Whether you can help solve the company’s challenges: whether you have achievements and the necessary personal qualities.
Let’s understand how to write a resume for an internship for a student. A resume is a document that has a clear structure. This structure helps recruiters to find the right information faster, which increases the chances of success.
Photo and Contact Information
Include the full name without abbreviations, right as in the passport, and with capital letters. The contact information is worth specifying several ways of contact. Be sure to check the correctness of the data – do not miss any digits and letters.
If you don’t answer the phone from unknown numbers – don’t put a phone number in your contact information, especially not as the only way to contact them. Many companies use CRM systems to keep track of candidates. So a missed call or a recruiter’s unkind attitude may block the way to the company for the next couple of years.
More than half of HR managers look at candidates’ social media accounts. So, make life easier for the recruiter – point them out immediately, checking the page beforehand.
Photo
It’s great that you were in Bali. You have perfect abs and the cutest dog in the world. But the recruiter doesn’t need to know that. The photo should be in a business style where your face is clearly visible, with no unnecessary details.
Work Experience
Often young candidates leave the section blank, which greatly reduces the chances of a coveted invitation. If there is no official work experience, indicate unofficial experience. Collect in the piggy bank all the projects in which you were able to participate: teaching, research, junior year mentoring, assistance at the department, volunteer programs – all this can be presented to the employer intelligently.
But here, too, you should remember about the balance, do not list all the projects and activities in which you have ever participated. Specify a couple of key ones. For example, a team leader volunteering at the World Cup and editor of the student newspaper will show the employer that you are a responsible, attentive, and efficient candidate with some managerial skills.
Education
If you are still a student, include your anticipated graduation date. Don’t forget to add information about additional courses. Due to your lack of experience, this will be an advantage and show the recruiter that you are not standing still and are interested in development.
Key Skills
Don’t include stress tolerance and communication skills, as well as basic skills like email. Include specific skills needed for job tasks, such as knowledge of C# (7/10) or intermediate English proficiency. Include credible information that can be verified.
How to Communicate with HR to Get an Internship
Be polite and honest. There are no universal rules or secret cheat codes. The HR manager decides what to ask the candidate. The questions can be standard and very specific. Among the recruiters’ favorite questions is to ask about yourself, your strengths and weaknesses, and your motivation – “Why do you want to work for us?”
It is important for the recruiter during the internship interview to understand if you are a good fit for the company as a future employee and as a person. To understand whether you fit into the company culture, the recruiter may ask questions about your values, hobbies, ways of dealing with problems, and your role in the team.
