As my internship is coming to an end, I would like to share some of valuable lessons during this experience. I have started an internship in TULU, a company that provides a unique service similar to vending machines, but for renting household products instead of traditional purchase habits. The services are provided mainly in common areas of residential buildings, making it accessible to residents and their users.
The core value of the company revolves around one of the principles of circular economy – encourage reusing existing resources. As TULU recognized the need of addressing our current waste problem by breaking the cycle of take-make-waste. By introducing TULU, less household product (including electronics) needs to be purchased and will be reused, extending the lifespan of the products. Instead of barely used products being discarded eventually, these products find new life and used to their full potential. My personal values highly align with the company value, as I have always been interested in sustainability and the positive impact we can create through our actions.
In this blog, I wish to share my experience and highlight two important advices on finding an internship, and hope to empower individuals, including my future self, who may be in this tough stage where I have been through.
- Networking: I have heard about the importance of networking in finding a job, but I didn’t fully grasp its importance until I experienced it. Despite I have applied for all communication science related job through LinkedIn and all other platforms, and attending workshops and events, none seems to bring a final offer, that is when I started to lose hope. However, just before the deadline university have set, I have got an internship offer. I have found this internship in an unexpected way, a friend who knew about my desperate situation in looking for an internship, shared her previous manager’s contact from her previous part time internship. Although I didn’t have much hope, I still decided to go for it and eventually brought me the offer. This experience emphasized the importance of networking. You do not have to put too much pressure on yourself, to attend every networking event or seize every opportunity to networking, but simply let people know that you are currently looking for an internship. As you never know which action will lead to final success.
- Cold emails: I have heard about successful story of someone finding a job through cold emails at a networking event, but I was somewhat skeptical about its effectiveness in my own situation. However, this experience proved otherwise. I sent an email to the manager attaching my CV and my motivational letter that explained why I was a suitable candidate and reasons of why I am interested in working at TULU. She then responded and referred me to her colleague who works in her previous position as a community and event manager. However, after several working days of not hearing back from her colleague – my manager later – I decided to send a follow up email, explaining the situation again and attaching my CV and motivational letter. From then, I received a prompt response and was invited for an interview, eventually leading to the internship offer. So, I would like to remind you to stay confident and persistent, and never lose hope!
The key takeaway from my experience in searching for an internship is the potential effectiveness of networking and cold emails. Stay hopeful, do not be afraid to reach out and follow up! All the best to whoever needs this message!