HOW TO FIND AN INTERNSHIP – NIKOLAY (RUSSIA)

Follow these simple steps, if you want to get an internship.

At some point of your studies, you will be required to get an internship  relevant to your field of study. Having passed this experience, I would like to give you some pieces of advice.

CV

First, create a great CV and cover letter. Yes, it sounds like an obvious deal, however I strongly advise you to go through your CV and work on it harder. If your only experience is working as a waiter/waitress, then try to present it in a way that will highlight the main skills that your  future employer would be interested in.

Cover Letter

What refers to cover letter, please do not make it too long. Depending on the company, you can adjust the length of your message, but mostly half or one-page long letter is enough to tell what is your motivation, skills, knowledge and previous experience. Do not forget to encourage the employer to contact you for further cooperation or propose them to consider you for other positions. If you do not get the position you aimed for, at least you might get another option in the company.

Second, decide in which industry you would like to work and what country it will be. Different industries may require different skills even for the same position. And now it is high time for browsing the web or generally networking to seek for new openings in the chosen industries and spheres. By doing so, you would ease up the process, since you know what you are looking for.

On the website of the company look for the page “Job Offers” or “Career” or anything like to see all the openings that are available currently. To make the process smoother a bit and keep all contacts in one place, create an Excel spreadsheet with columns: “name of the company”, “position”, “contact”, “contact person name”. After you have a list of companies, you can start sending out your CV and cover letter. Do not forget to follow the formal format in your e-mails.

Third, when you get an invitation to the interview, please, consider to be dressed up formally and remember it is better to be over dressed rather than under dressed. I would not tell you do not feel nervous, since it does not really help. So, you better admit that you are a bit anxious but do not tell the interviewer (they already know it, and might give you some credits for trying to show that you are brave). Before the interview go through some standard questions available online, to be prepared and therefore feel more confident during the interview.

Finally yet importantly, to be more appealing to the possible employer do not concentrate on your experience and education only. If you have been participating in some volunteering, project, organization or have participated somewhere in general, mention it in you CV. Employers want to have energetic and active people. Thus, think of doing some extra stuff besides your studies and good luck in your future!

Written By:
Nikolay Rol (Russia)
BA in Business Administration

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