Internship Advice
After a long academic year filled with studying, stress, and intensive preparation, the last thing many of you would wish for would be for a summer filled with work and responsibility. Yet, a summer internship continues to be one of the most popular decisions a University student makes when planning their summer; the benefits of embarking on an internship, placement, or part-time summer job can prove incredibly effective. In light of this, this blog will focus on providing relevant and helpful advice regarding summer internships.
Firstly, it is worth considering why people engage in summer internships. Many do it for the CV, naturally. An internship in a professional setting is a great reference to have in your CV, this is because, after years of studying, many of us lack office experience when applying for jobs. So, an internship demonstrates to future employers that we do have experience working in a professional environment with relevant responsibilities and skills. As well as this, internships may also help your personal development by enabling you to realize what types of jobs you see yourself working in for the future. I am aware of many law students who have spent months interning in law firms for them to realize that they would rather apply their legal knowledge to a different type of job. Such recognition is crucial in how it will certainly help you save time in the future when you would have to try different jobs out; rather, an internship will make you aware of where you see yourself working. A 9-5 office job is not desirable for everyone, some would rather work in a hands-on environment; some realize they enjoy working remotely more. Regardless of what it is you learn about yourself from interning, it is inevitable that interning can be great for your personal development.
Now, this paragraph will focus more on the process of applying for and accepting an internship. Most of the internships I have completed have been based in Thailand as that is where I am from, thus, the process there may be a little different. Usually, I would search up companies in areas that I was interested in such as law, marketing, or PR and I would send my CV and cover letter to the company’s email address. Following this would be an interview which I would attend in the offices and if successful, I would be offered a summer internship. Some of my internships have paid very well and some only provide recommendations and references. This year I will be doing an internship in the UK and have realized that the process of application is very similar, although I would say a few differences can be noted. I realized that simply sending in your information to companies may not always prove effective if they are not looking to hire interns. Therefore, it is worth looking at the careers section of the company website to see if they actively recruit or not. I also noticed that applying for internships in the UK is extremely competitive and thus it may be worth applying for more than one.
When it comes to interviewing preparation for internships I would recommend you do lots of research about the firm before you have an interview and ensure you are well aware of what it is the role requires. Looking up articles on interview advice is also very helpful. Employers are usually very impressed when they recognize you have a great understanding of their firm. Alongside this, it is also important that you are aware that many internships will require you to commute to its location, so you may be required to find accommodation and travel daily; my advice concerning this is that if you do not see yourself commuting to the location or traveling then don’t apply as it may simply waste your time.
Finally, I wanted to mention that at Warwick there is a great scheme in place to help you find an internship that is tailored to your internships. This is called the Warwick Internship Program or WIP and is launched by the University every year. I highly recommend that you look it up or search for it in your inbox as it has helped me secure an internship for this academic year. For the summer of 2022, the applications have currently ended. I would suggest for you to definitely apply for 2023 as the team at Warwick send out and host many incredibly useful sources such as seminars and workshops on interviews and CV writing to support you.
