The best time to get an internship opportunity is as a student. So now, how do you get such an opportunity to intern for companies?
I got my internship after school, which was a bit late compared to my peers. Getting an internship as a student is easier and more beneficial because you will also be building your portfolio. Plus if you intern for a company, you have a 75% chance of getting employed by that company.
In this blog post, you will know where to look for internship opportunities and a step-by-step way on how you can get this opportunity even though you are a student.
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What is your Skillset for an Internship
Companies hire interns with a clear purpose: to bring fresh talent that will increase the profitability of the organization. So approach internship applications with the mindset that shows you can deliver results and be a valuable team member.
You need to develop skillsets beyond your core expertise. Let’s say you’re an accounting student looking for internship opportunities. Start now to gain proficiency in tools like Excel, QuickBooks, and data analysis software. Similarly, if you are a law student, you can develop skills in public speaking, report writing, and publishing articles. Remember to keep evidence of your work so employers can verify your capabilities.
Another advantage you can develop as a student looking for internship opportunities is acquiring tech skills. Most companies are searching for young talents who can help them transition into technology. For example, an accounting student learning QuickBooks and Excel, while showcasing completed projects, will demonstrate to interviewers their potential to improve data entry efficiency and account balancing by up to 50% using these software tools. This makes employers more likely to hire you.
Pro Tip: You can review job descriptions for positions you want and identify the necessary skill sets that are in demand in your field.
How to get an Internship Opportunity
From my experience, the problem is not getting internship opportunities. Rather you need to know the best place that gives internship opportunities to students.
1. Where to Get an Internship Opportunity
From my experience, the problem is not getting internship opportunities. Rather you need to know the best place that gives internship opportunities to students. Most students aspire to gain internship opportunities in big firms like Google.
I too wish for this opportunity. But in reality, if you want to increase your chance of getting an internship you have to start by being open to opportunities at companies of all sizes. Apply to new companies, and mid-size companies first. It’s harder to get into big companies like Google, Amazon, Shell, etc…
Once you get your 1st internship in a start-up and you bring in quantifiable results, you can pitch that result to get into bigger companies. But start small.
2. Search for this opportunity
Most of these companies are looking for talent but they don’t want to pay the industry salary. Since you’re likely to be single now, the salary will be enough for you.
So how do you search for an internship?
I got into my first internship role after learning a skill from an NGO organization mainly because I was among the best students in the cohort.
So check if the company you are applying for has cohort programs 1st. If they have then you apply for the programme. Once accepted do your best to be among the top 3 in the class. Even if the company doesn’t employ you, they will give you a recommendation to other companies.
I love searching for companies on LinkedIn…I’m a LinkedIn fan. You can also Google open internship roles.
Sometimes you may get opportunities from friends or your school network. So keep an open mind when interacting with people and make them aware you are open to internship opportunities if they come across any.
3. Prepare a result-driven CV.
Contrary to popular opinion, you must not have prior work experience to gain an internship opportunity.
In fact, an internship position is an entry level opportunity to work. So your potential employer won’t expect that you have previous work experience.
Nonetheless, your employer will be interested in the personal project you have taken. For example, if you’re a computer hardware engineer, you should have a video of how you couple computer parts together and how functional the computer will be after.
If you hope to get an internship as a social media manager, then use your personal page as a reference to increase your chances of getting an internship.
This CV potential employer imagine the result you will get them if you’re employed.
You can also get intership opportunities from job boards specific to internships like College Recruiters,Internjobs etc. You can even go to your university career website. Another untapped area most students are not aware of is joining professional associations even at a young age. People in this associations share junior job opportunities which you can apply as intern.
Conculsion
To increase your chances of getting an internship, you need to get a good CV that has project you’ve worked on personally. Nobody is expecting to have 1 year previous work experience. But your potential employer will be wowed if you have created and achieved milestones in some of your personal project that is relating to the position you are applying for.