Tips on Applying for an Internship

Greetings readers! I believe it's already the start of the semester break for most university students. Although many are still in a holiday mood, I believe that some students may have started on their internship search. In this post, I'll share on how I prepare for my internship application.

1.Get to know your course requirements for your internship 

Depending on your course, the requirements may vary. Certain courses may want their students to conduct their internship during their semester break (1-2 months), while others may require students to do their internship during the semester itself (ranging from 3-6 months and can go as long as 1 year).

Another point to take note is the career scope set by the faculty in which the students can intern in. This is to prevent the students to intern in an industry that is not compatible with the course requirements, which can result in difficulties later on, or worse,may cause the students to fail their internship.

2. Start your search early 

Start searching for any internship openings as early as 3 months before the start of your internship duration as companies may take around 3 days up until 1 month or more to process and assess on internship applications.

3.Get to know about your skills and interests

Think and assess on what skills that you have and what you want to learn during your internship. You can start by listing down your strengths and weaknesses, and also your interests. You can also try various aptitude test on Google to determine what kind of career that suits you. One of the websites that I can suggest on assessing your aptitudes and suitable career choices is The Nurturing Expert Talent (NEXT) .

4. Prepare your resume

I suggest on having two different resume styles for different job sectors. I've prepared an infographic style resume and a corporate style resume for my applications. It's best to keep your resume within 1-2 pages long and use minimal colours to keep your resume looking professional and presentable.

   

 Examples for infographic resume (Left) & corporate style resume (Right)

5. Prepare your cover letter/email

When preparing your cover letter or email, do use keywords from the job advertisement and apply them in your writing. Never leave your email body empty and it's better to write a cover email and attach your cover letter in the email.

6.Proofread and triple check on everything

Take your time to read through your documents to make sure there is zero error. Common errors in internship applications include the name of the Person In Charge, their designations, their email addresses, grammatical errors and  the job designation that you applied.

7. Check the important documents are attached before sending your email

Do convert your attachments into PDF and make sure that your documents are attached to your email before sending it to the respective companies. Label the documents with a professional name to avoid any misunderstandings.

7. Keep a checklist 

Keep a checklist on the companies that you've applied,the date that you applied and the Person In Charge that you've emailed for easier tracking. Google Docs also provides a template to keep track for these purpose.

8. Follow up on your application 

If you haven't heard back from the respective companies that you've applied, consider sending a follow up email reinstating your interest on the position. Do bear in mind, it may take some time for the hiring managers to vet through the applications.

* Bonus tip: Download the Mail Track extension for Gmail * 
If you're using Gmail as your primary email address, I suggest on downloading the Mail Track extension. It functions as a mail tracking application that lets you know whether your emails are read or not. You can install it here.

I hope that these tips will help you on your internship application. I wish you all the best in your internship search and do drop me any questions regarding this topic.

Cheers,
Dee

Credits: Cristin Hume on Unsplash and edited using Canva, GIFs by giphy, photos by Google Image