When applying for my internship, I felt truly clueless on how and where to start. I ended up going on LinkedIn, applying for two or three listed jobs, and took the first place that I was offered, Even though I don’t regret my choices, as I have been really lucky, there could definitely have been better ways to find an internship. Therefore, here are some aspects that are worth to consider when looking for an internship, in my experience:
- In what field do you want to have your internship in?
As I am doing a Communication Science bachelor, the obvious field to do my internship in was marketing: most opportunities online matching with my profile were labelled as ‘marketing intern’ including tasks and responsibilities of social media management and content creation for the company. Many of my peers liked this route and followed along this path, but if you’re like me, not feeling particularly drawn to marketing, it’s important to keep in mind that you can always choose a different field. For example, I ended up going into sales, but other options include politics, education, or human resources.
- How far are you willing to travel to the workplace daily?
When I was choosing an internship, I remained flexible about the daily travel time, that is how I was travelling one hour and fifteen minutes to get to work, and an additional hour and fifteen minutes to get back home, every day. This travel time is plausible, but requires careful consideration beforehand, and it is important to be aware what circumstances are acceptable for you and your opportunities specifically.
- What salary compensation do you need to cover your expenses?
Unfortunately, internships are often underpaid, but one still needs to cover for daily expenses. When considering salary expectations, it should be noted that even though some are unpaid, most internships offer some kind of monetary compensation, and they also usually cover for the travel costs. It is also important to remember that if the internship is a mandatory part of your study programme, you can apply for study finance at DUO. Even with this added aid, your monthly income is not going to be high, but it might be enough to get by with during the limited time period of the internship.
- Have you explored all your other possibilities before accepting an offer?
What I did wrong when searching for the internship was taking the first one that I was offered. I definitely recommend attending more interviews and possibly receiving more offers before finally deciding on one. This way, you are able to make a much more considerate and established choice than I did. As to where you can look for internship opportunities, you can look on LinkedIn, Indeed, but you can also always send your motivation letter alongside with your CV to the company, who knows, they might be happy to welcome you as their new intern.