Tuesday 25 June 2013

How To Secure An Internship

Hey Guys!

This is a little post taken from the website Milk and Honey Media which I write for and has some useful tips on how to get an internship. 


FEATURE: HOW TO SECURE AN INTERNSHIP

 It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that an internship is a surefire way to get your foot in the door in any career.
 It is the perfect way to gain hands on experience with a company you have long admired and wanted to work with. But one thing that people aren’t always aware of is that you don’t always have to be a student to intern – college graduates, career movers – those who just aren’t feeling satisfied with the career path they’ve chosen are all welcome, if you’ve got what they’re looking for.
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First things first ENQUIRE– you need to decide what it is that you want to gain experience in. So I would recommend making a list of your key interests – think about where you really see yourself and what role you could perform well in.
Then, do the RESEARCH – many websites have a ‘careers’ or ‘opportunities’ or ‘graduate scheme’ section where you can find the latest jobs within the company you would like to gain experience with. Often, there will be a different time period in which you can complete the internship – some only offer a few weeks at a time whilst others can take you on for a whole year. Open up a word document and shortlist the companies/organisations you would like to intern with.
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 Your CV has to do YOU justice. YOU may know that you are perfect for the job – but if your CV isn’t saying so then you might miss out on a brilliant opportunity.  All it need take is a simple few tweaks to impress.
  1. DONT WAFFLE– the worst thing you could do is bore your employer with the whole “I am ambitious “ “ I am determined.” Now please, it’s about outlining your key skills and previous work experience that really draw the readers attention – not waffling on about how amazing you are. They don’t know you from Adam you need the evidence.
  2. This is your chance to make a GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION – so proof you’re your CV and check that all spelling and punctuation is accurate.
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http://cv.monster.co.uk  one of the many useful sites you can use to help make sure your CV is just what your employer is looking for – giving you advice on some great phrases and sentences to set your CV apart from others.
Once you’ve tackled the Curriculum Vitae it’s important that you send a covering letter with it too – stating why you would like to apply for the position and briefly the skills you have to offer. It is also worth mentioning that you have expanded on these details further in your CV tailoring it to the intended recipient.
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Who you send your CV and covering letter to is extremely important, in most circumstances sending these to the CEO of the company is the way to go, in which case I would recommend using : http://www.ceoemail.com to find the email addresses of the CEOs of UK companies. However, if like me you would like to gain experience in Journalism – you will find that you receive more of a response if you send your CV and covering letter to the Assistants or Junior writers. To maximize your chances of getting a response I would suggest that you email everyone who is in the department in which you would like to work in.
If you are still not hearing anything – double check that on the company website it doesn’t give you a specific email address for internships or if you can’t find the right email address – find an alternative one and ask for the email of the person who deals with internship applications – you’ve got nothing to lose!
By Olivia Todd

1 comment:

  1. this post was so helpful, I would love to intern in media or fashion and just didn't know how to go about it, I have had previous experience at a newspaper but I really need more, great post! :) xx

    http://dreamlovelivefashion.blogspot.co.uk/

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