How To Approach Companies For Internship: Step By Step Process
An internship provides a hands-on learning experience to students into a professional network related to their potential career interests. It provides an opportunity for skill development and helps to adapt to the workspace culture. Here we present you a complete guide on how to approach companies for internships.
The experience gained helps students experience their chosen career path in the real corporate world, which helps to establish critical networking connections in their respective fields. Students are afforded to build contacts in their field to leverage more opportunities. An internship helps students gain coveted work experience, which helps them apply classroom training in professional working environments. An internship isn’t just a resume booster for students; it also adds value to their career on a long-term basis.
The true benefit of internships and other learning opportunities is undisputed. Once you have a concrete idea of which opportunities would be right for you, it’s time to see what’s out there and how to approach companies for internships. Here’s how you can do it:
- Use college career resources to check your potential career interests that fit your qualifications.
- Contact companies directly. If you’re planning to work in your dream company, you can send a letter of interest or a personalized note on professional networking platforms like LinkedIn.
- Prepare application materials that highlight extracurricular activities, achievements, or awards.
- Tailor your resume and monitor your social media accounts before appearing for an interview.
How To Approach Companies For Internships
1. Prepare an Insightful Resume
Students generally do not realize the importance of resume building for internships. They depict your skills, qualifications, and professional background. Here we present some tips to prepare a perfect resume before applying for internships. Give wings to your dreams with hundreds of opportunities with a practical and engaging resume.
- Use the STAR format- situation, task, action, and result of your achievements or experiences in bullet points.
- Highlight your key wins and accomplishments and keep them concise.
- Share a few ideas on how you would want to contribute to the company if hired as an intern.
- If you’ve never written a resume before, you can use different templates from apps like Canva, LiveCareer.
Having internship experience and a solid resume can edge others when applying for a job.
2. Effective Online Portfolio
An online portfolio is an excellent option to stand out and approach the interviewers. Highlight the projects you have worked upon to have a competitive edge over others. Various apps help you make a notable collection of projects for your interviews.
Keep updating your online portfolios to showcase your achievements. Your portfolio to show off the sophistication of your skills and projects.
Curate the best portfolio by choosing work that has garnered more positive reviews. While updating your portfolio, tailor it accordingly for the job you’re planning to join or work as an intern. Spruce up the layout with various online portfolio tools, and then you can apply for internships that relate to your career interests.
3. Learn Networking
Establishing contacts and leveraging the professional network helps enhance career opportunities, understanding the professional facets of life. You can send LinkedIn invitations to the manager’s recruiters of a company. You can send them a personalized note on how insightful their profile looks to start a great conversation about the internships. Networking is a two-way street, so think about how you can build your connections. It is better to connect with them regularly, to show them a genuine curiosity regarding their work and company. Remember that your internship isn’t a short-term thing that ends with summer. Use it as an exciting opportunity to meet new professionals and make new connections that help achieve your favorite job opportunities.
4. Dedicated Internship Websites
It is one of the most powerful search methods for exciting internships. They are swift and provide accurate, effective results. The following are some examples of websites that offer good internships. Set the search criteria that match your career interest and provide you with numerous opportunities to upgrade your skills.
- com has more than 6000 high school and college internships that offer tremendous opportunities to students to enhance their professional network.
- com – This website has more than 30,000 listings from various companies. It provides entry-level jobs and internships for freshers.
5. Cold Emailing The Company Directly
It is one of the most powerful tools to the level playing field of the opportunity. It helps you build a professional network and compete for the best career opportunities. Cold emails help to find a lot of leads. Leads are the professionals with whom you can chat and connect. Well, the process is straightforward. You can find the manager’s email address or contact information and ask to connect for an internship. You can shoot an email to the company’s decision-makers briefing your interest in working in the company. Establish a connection with the person who has a high chance of replying to your emails.
6. Ace Your Upcoming Interview
This is it. The process everybody is building up to is the final step between you and the internship. It is essential to show the best version of yourself during the interview. If you get a response from the HR manager after sending your resume, that means they see something in you. It’s your turn to live up to the expectations and show them your skills. Show the interviewer that you have performed well-grounded research regarding the company. It will help you stand out among others and help to perform better in the interview. Know the answers to these specific questions:
- Why should we choose you?
- Where do you see yourself after five years?
- Why do you want to work here?
Have a short elevator pitch on how you want to work and achieve the organization’s objectives or goals. The above-listed points highlight facts on how to approach companies for internships.
Key Takeaways
– If everything goes well, landing the perfect internship can kickstart your career to new prospects. Start with creating a convincing resume and ensure it has all the necessary information regarding your credentials.
– To convince the HR manager, do what it takes, but present yourself and your work experience in the most professional way.
We hope the above-listed tips gave you a fair idea of how to approach companies for internships. We hope we did not miss out on any essential points. If yes, do let us know in the following section.