5 Tips to Find Your First Internship (2024)

Sponsored byNottingham Business School

Graduates today face the toughest job market in decades. Students leaving university over the next few years will be likely to face increasing competition and a shrinking number of graduate opportunities.

To market yourself to recruiters, it’s vital that you start thinking about ways to differentiate yourselfright now. One method is, of course, via work experience.

Whatever your trade, having internships on your CV before leaving university tells prospective employers that you have experienced office environments, are committed to your career and have some knowledge of the industry you’d like to work in.

Sadly, students often struggle with finding those first internships with zero prior work experience and only a vague notion of what they’d like to do… Read on for some simple steps to break through that first internship barrier.

1. Perfect your CV

Writing your first CV is always a bit of a catch 22: you need a CV to apply for your first internships and jobs, but haven’t yet got much to include. Or at least youthinkyou don’t. In truth, you probably have lots to mention. Consider personal hobbies and extracurricular interests, volunteering and part-time work, and all the skills and knowledge acquired during your studies. What skills do you have that an employer could use? This could be anything from research and planning, to social media community building or Photoshop. Instead of organizing your CV based on employment, list your key skills and then give concrete examples of how you’ve acquired and utilized each one.

2. Make use of your university’s careers service.

Your university’s career service is not just a place to discuss different career paths; it’s also a way of connecting with a large network of professionals and businesses. Find out about the alumni network and how you can make use of this, and ask about any mentoring or placement schemes. Attend networking events organized by your university, or contact alumni with interesting-sounding job titles directly – building these connections will help you find out about different sectors, and hear about new openings.

3. Send speculative applications.

Devise a list of companies you’d most like to intern with, and send out speculative emails. Don’t forget to attach your CV with a short personalized cover letter explaining why you’d like to complete work experience with them, and enquire about any upcoming vacancies. Keep track of the names of all the companies that you’ve emailed in a spreadsheet along with the date of your email and any response, keeping in mind, of course, that you are probably not going to hear back from most of them. For every 50 emails you send, you will probably hear back from about – say – five or so. Don’t let this get you down! Perseverance is all part of the process.

4. Check out job listing websites.

Browse through job listing websites to find internships, filtering by industry and role. However, don’t rely on this approach alone. Keeping in mind that many internships are not advertised online but are instead filled through word of mouth, it’s best to make use of a range of different methods to maximize your chances of finding a good internship.

5. Try volunteering.

While searching for your first internship, you could also try volunteering with an organization (political, charity, or a special interest group) that you admire and feel inspired by. This is a great way to build experience, develop skills relevant to your target role, and grow your network of contacts.

Access more internship opportunities via Nottingham Business School

Whatever your level of study, Nottingham Business School’scareer advice teamwill help you score internships, jobs, understand your job market and send off picture perfect applications and cover letters to recruiters.

Nottingham Business School’s alumni community comprises of over 100,000 professionals working across all sectors globally. To meet with Nottingham Trent alumni and discuss opportunities and job markets, the university organizes regular events worldwide linking students with former students.Find out more here!

Want more content like this Register for free site membership to get regular updates and your own personal content feed.

  • 5 Tips to Find Your First Internship (3)
  • 5 Tips to Find Your First Internship (4)

saved this article

  • 5 Tips to Find Your First Internship (5)
  • 5 Tips to Find Your First Internship (6)

+ 1 others saved this article

5 Tips to Find Your First Internship (2024)

FAQs

5 Tips to Find Your First Internship? ›

The Stages of Internship focuses on five predictable stages students encounter during internships. These stages include: anticipation, disillusionment, confrontation, competence, and culmination.

What are the 5 stages of internship? ›

The Stages of Internship focuses on five predictable stages students encounter during internships. These stages include: anticipation, disillusionment, confrontation, competence, and culmination.

What is the youngest age to get an internship? ›

Employers should be aware that if the analysis of the circ*mstances reveals an intern is, in fact, an employee, then he or she is entitled to minimum wage (and potentially overtime) pay under the FLSA. For most employers, a minor needs to be at least 14 years of age to be hired as an unpaid intern.

What to expect from your first internship? ›

Be prepared to learn: An internship is an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in your field of interest. Be prepared to ask questions, take notes, and learn as much as you can. Set goals: Before you start your internship, set some goals for yourself. What do you want to achieve during your time there?

What does a successful intern look like? ›

Have a willingness to help participate on projects no matter how large or small with a positive attitude and the ability to learn on the go.” “Understand time management, organization, and communication skills.” “Be a problem solver and have the ability to accept and learn fromcriticism, and of course communication.”

What are the 4 phases of internship? ›

These stages include: anticipation, disillusionment, confrontation, competence, and culmination. The Stages of Internship serves as a framework for identification of each stage as it relates to student development throughout the internship experience.

What do interns look for in an internship? ›

Many students noted that having resources like training programs or workshops to build additional skills was something they valued in an internship. Not only can it help boost their confidence, but students can learn skills applicable to their internship and explore different avenues of their career paths.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Dan Stracke

Last Updated:

Views: 6177

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (63 voted)

Reviews: 94% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Dan Stracke

Birthday: 1992-08-25

Address: 2253 Brown Springs, East Alla, OH 38634-0309

Phone: +398735162064

Job: Investor Government Associate

Hobby: Shopping, LARPing, Scrapbooking, Surfing, Slacklining, Dance, Glassblowing

Introduction: My name is Dan Stracke, I am a homely, gleaming, glamorous, inquisitive, homely, gorgeous, light person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.