How do you plan to use your summer?
From earning a little extra money to catching up with friends, preparing for the new year of studying, or immersing yourself in your ideal industry and career, the summer months that stretch ahead are full of opportunity.
With that in mind, we’re here today to discuss the merits of a summer internship and how to identify and then land your dream placement.
What is a Summer Internship?
A summer internship is an opportunity to dive into a work placement and get to know a specific job role or industry, without committing too much time – with internship roles typically lasting anywhere between one week and twelve weeks.
The ideal working opportunity for students looking to maximise their time away from university, summer internship roles are great for skills building and learning more about a potential industry that you may be interested in stepping into as a career. What’s more, with skills building so highly regarded among the employers and businesses of today, we are seeing more and more companies looking to recruit from their pool of active interns as opposed to marketing vacancies externally.
So, taking on internship roles and opportunities can prove fruitful as you look to build a career and become established in your chosen industry.
Are Summer Internships Paid?
The question that all students want to know the answer to: are internships paid opportunities?
Most internships are paid, as they bridge the land between student life and the working world. While work placements and placement years tend to be part of your study, summer internships place you right in the heart of the business or company that you choose. Typically, these internships are paid pro rata, based on an annual salary and how many weeks you work.
How to Identify the Perfect Internship
There are a number of sites that you can browse in your search for placement opportunities and vacancies, such as Rate My Placement. These marketplace-style sites allow you to browse employer profiles to uncover more about the different companies and the internships they are offering.
Alternatively, some of the most successful and fruitful internships come from students’ own research. Contacting potential employers and companies that you are particularly interested in or passionate about demonstrates resourcefulness and can help you to stand out and build valuable networks.
Even if a company that you contact doesn’t have an internship offer available at that time, introducing yourself may prove beneficial to your future career.
Tips for Landing Your Dream Placement
With all that in mind – and now that you are sold on the idea of spending at least part of your summer in an internship placement or role – here are a collection of tips on landing that dream placement.
1. Craft Your CV With the Internship in Mind
So many students and even prospective candidates and employees in the workplace are guilty of building a CV and then leaving it as it is – submitting it time and time again without considering the individual roles they are applying for.
While a CV is a collection of past experiences, packed with information that doesn’t change, it needs to be kept updated and tailored to each role and internship that you apply for.
Adding a small introduction at the top of your CV, highlighting your studies, relevant experiences, and availability, is a good way of immediately drawing potential employers’ attention to the most important information that they need to know about you.
2. Standing Out in Your Application
When applying for a summer internship, you need to be aware that specific roles may be very competitive – particularly in coveted industries, working with reputable and big-name companies.
Standing out starts with your CV and cover letter or supporting documentation, in which you should do what you can to connect existing experiences with the internship and with your ultimate career development goals.
Take steps to show a company or potential employer that you have the skills they are looking for in an intern, that you are motivated, and that you can bring personal as well as professional value. And where possible, reach out to existing contacts for references that will boost your application.
3. Acing Internship Interviews
The chances are that previous weekend work and ad hoc jobs between college terms haven’t involved a hugely arduous interview process. This might mean that applying and interviewing for a summer internship is your first experience of a formal workplace interview.
Preparation is the key to a successful internship interview – familiarising yourself with commonly asked questions and preparing some answers to questions that you know will be asked.
As a starting point, we always recommend considering your reasons for applying, why the employer should choose you over another candidate, and what you can bring to the internship that others can’t. It’s also valuable to research and learn a little more about the company you’re applying to work with, so that you can exhibit some knowledge in the interview and present an interested perspective.
Tips for Preparing for a Summer Internship
The final part of this blog is all about preparing to apply for and take on a summer internship.
As standard, companies and employers will be interested in seeing how you can support the company, and how an internship opportunity can help and benefit you. The aim of summer internships and working programmes is to give students a taste of a specific industry or role – with companies wanting to see that you are motivated and keen to use your internship to unlock potential experience and opportunities.
As you prepare for a summer internship, some of the things that you can do involve:
· If you haven’t already done so, sign up for LinkedIn and start building a professional profile that highlights your experience and will help you to connect with relevant people in your industry
· Attend networking events at university, and don’t be afraid to contact people who you know in your chosen industry to ask for references and support when applying for internships
Finally, make sure that you choose internships and embrace opportunities that you enjoy and that inspire you! This is a chance to test the waters of an industry or even a company that you may go on to spend years working for – so seize everything that’s offered and love every moment!
