Preface: As students, most of us look for internships. Some of us have it as a part of the curriculum, others don’t. This article is relevant for any kind of internship, across fields and job roles. It is also applicable for research internships. This is the first article from a series of articles on internships.
If only it were so easy XD! In 2018, there were over 22 lakh internship applications in India. This itself conveys the immense pressure on good companies / good internship profiles. As a result of this, it is very hard to get a company to even open and view your profile, leave alone hire someone.
Broadly there are 7 techniques to get internships:
A. College Placement Cell
This is typically the best option, at least at a reputed institute. Companies that typically receive over 100 applications per week, that wouldn’t even view your profile otherwise, gives you consideration when they come through the college placement cell.
B. Using other college’s placement cell
Follow the placement cells of other reputed colleges on social media. This creates three avenues for you:
Several colleges host internship fairs open to other colleges - They are a good opportunity to get an internship
At times they post applications open to other college students as well
Even if there isn’t an internship fair/application open to you, you can get an idea of internship opportunities for students that are not being offered at your campus and you can directly apply approach those companies.
C. Company websites
Several companies that hire interns have a portal or application to apply from on their website. You need to identify a list of companies you’re interested in working with and check their websites.
You can also directly write emails to companies, on the ID provided on their website.
D. Use internship portals
Portals such as Internshala, GlassDoor, Twenty19, LetsIntern, etc. can be used. Although a majority of internships listed here aren’t that useful, there will be a handful of opportunities worth applying for.
E. Connect with HR/managers via LinkedIn
Look up online and identify HR representatives or managers at firms you wish to work with on LinkedIn. LinkedIn has built-in search options to help you with this. When you send a connection request, it should always be with a message. A request without a message has much higher chances of being ignored.
F. Follow on social media platforms including LinkedIn
Follow HR representatives of different companies as they typically post on their social media when they have an internship/job opportunity. Also, follow other individuals and pages who typically post about internship opportunities.
G. Personal contacts
There is nothing wrong with using personal contacts. Network through your large Indian family with dozens of uncles and family friends and identify an opportunity. It is better to get a good internship through a personal contact rather than taking up a below-average internship via other available options. This is especially true for your first internship, as it's very hard to get a good firm to hire you as an intern if you haven’t had prior internship experience.
An important point to bear in mind: For methods apart from A and G above, you should expect a very very low response rate. For example, if you apply to say 10 companies, maybe one of them will respond to you. This is not saying that the one will hire you, only that they will respond to you, rest will just ignore you. That is the sad truth. The reason being companies receive way too many applications. Even as a student from a premium college, I barely received one response per 10+ LinkedIn requests or emails sent out directly to companies.
If I were to recommend an optimal strategy from the methods above, then I’d suggest: first try A and B. If that doesn’t work then do C,D,E,F simultaneously. After spending a few weeks on C,D,E,F if you still don’t get results, then start on G and simultaneously continue with C,D,E,F. It doesn’t take much effort once you get used to it. The key is consistency, keep trying and at the same time always try to receive feedback on your profile and look to improve it.
One additional avenue you can explore is, winning national level competitions in your field. Several such events offer an internship to their winners.
This marks the end of the article. I know from personal experience, that it can become very difficult at times to land an internship you are satisfied with. The key is consistent efforts and talking to people. Talk to your peers, seniors, faculty, relatives, neighbors, and try to identify opportunities.
To learn to prepare for interviews read this: How to prepare for any interview | The 7 key components | Part I
Feel free to get in touch with any questions or queries! If you need specific assistance to optimize your profile and decide which opportunities are right for you, do get in touch. Stay tuned for more articles on internships and CV building.
Subscribe to the website and follow on Instagram or LinkedIn to be notified about new resources on management consulting, internships, CV-building, interview preparation, and more.
Wishing you all the very best!
Comments