Being an intern or doing an internship is not something, but in this article we give you the best keys to find professional internships. For many students, internships are compulsory and you need patience and perseverance to find the right offer. There are specific stages to finding internships, which we summarize in simple steps.
Finding a professional practice requires time, dedication, a good intern Curriculum Vitae and a well-written professional profile. Here are all the steps to find the ideal internship for you.
1. The best websites to find internships
The following list contains the best pages to find an internship .
Infojobs
One of the largest job boards in the international market. Here, in addition to millions of job offers, you can also find internship offers . You can make your resume online and send it to the companies where you would like to work as an intern.
Sutent Job
On this page you can find internships in different fields or professional areas. The internship agreements have a duration between six months and two years, so the time you agree on will depend on you and the company, in addition, you could receive a job offer at the end of your stay.
This is the preferred social network for professionals. Every day there are more options that LinkedIn includes to find work. You can find endless offers to carry out your professional practices, it is only a matter of making your profile and looking for the ideal options for you.
University
This site offers scholarships and employment opportunities to universities. We recommend that you review the options displayed there.
Beeanted
This site is designed for students and graduates from both Europe and Latin America. It offers you professional internships and offers for your first job, always adapted to your professional profile. It is a platform that has managed to get users hired by the best companies thanks to their profile, skills and talents.
2. Take advantage of your own contacts
Although it may seem obvious, one of the first steps to getting internships is through your own contacts : ask your family, friends, classmates, teachers, neighbors and more. Maybe they don’t have a direct offer, but they know who does.
Even if your contacts are not dedicated at all to the sector in which you are interested in doing your internship , it does not matter, they may be able to give you a great option that you had not considered before.
In the same way, it is a great option to approach the administrative department of your university , they normally have job boards or offers for their students, find out well and look for the options that you can through your institution.
Ask for the list of companies that have hired students from your university and find out if there is any agreement between your institution and the company.
There are also many colleges, faculties or schools that are part of an association with employers. They are usually directly associated with companies that have agreements to do internships, social service, internships or job offers.
There are many ways to find internship opportunities, it’s just a matter of dedicating time and effort to your search.
3. Use your social networks
Surely you are one of the users who are constantly active on social networks (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter…) Therefore, one of the best uses you can give to your network is the search for professional internships . As simple as writing a post where you share information about the practice you want to find.
Make use of your social networks, they are one of the most effective ways to find a professional practice .
4. Create a resume for internships
The first stage of the search is the creation of an internship resume. It is very important to have a quality Curriculum Vitae accompanied by a cover letter to get a job interview that allows you to start your internship in a company.
The curriculum is the most important identification document in the world of work, therefore, it is also used for professional practices. Your CV must be focused on the type of position you are looking for and the training you have, so the first step is to pay attention to what the vacancies request.
Also, it is necessary that your resume is coherent, that it does not contain misspellings and that it is clear and precise to facilitate the reading of recruiters.
The purpose of the resume for internships is to show the interviewer that you have the necessary skills, competencies, skills and knowledge to perform the tasks required in the vacancy of your interest.
Building a resume when looking for an internship isn’t easy because you don’t have previous professional experience, however, your educational background and the courses you’ve taken can make your resume interesting and attractive to recruiters.
Information that should be included in an internship resume
- Contact information. Name, surname, email, contact number and social networks.
- Title. Look for the most attractive to attract the attention of recruiters.
- Professional experience. In case you count this one.
- Skills and competencies.
- Diplomas.
- Recognition or awards.
- courses
- Languages
- Interests
5 tips to create a good social internship resume
- Make your intern resume on a single page.
- If you haven’t finished your studies yet, mention that you are currently a student.
- Indicate the level of the languages you master, in a globalized world it is very important.
- Write keywords inside your resume
- If you do not have professional experience, indicate awards, research and more.
5. Write a motivation letter for an internship
After you have created your Curriculum Vitae, it is important to write a letter of motivation for an internship.
Sample letter of motivation for internships
To help you create a motivation letter for your internship , we offer you the following free download letter examples. These letters are ready for instant download and fill in Word.
Tips for writing a good motivation letter for a professional internship
- The motivation letter should not be more than one page. When looking for an internship, it is clear that you do not have professional experience, therefore, you should not worry about talking about experience that you do not have.
- Never send a motivation letter that is not personalized. You should take the time to personalize each card.
- Do not have misspellings. If necessary, give your letter to a trusted person to help you verify that you do not have errors.
6. Prepare for the practice interview
The resume and motivation letter will allow you to show the recruiter that you have the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to carry out the professional practice.
Therefore, the purpose of the job interview is to demonstrate that everything in your CV is true and you will be able to discuss the information shared in detail. In addition, it is important that you show all your enthusiasm to work in the company in question.
Before the interview
In order for you to prepare in the best way for the practice interview, you should take into account the following.
- Research everything about the company. Once you have the necessary information about the company, it will be easier for you to answer the recruiter’s questions and show that you are really interested in working there.
- Get ready for trick questions in a job interview. The recruiter can test your true intentions to work with them, so there are trick questions that you should prepare for.
- Rehearse common job interview questions with yourself in front of the mirror, or with a trusted friend. The more you talk about yourself and prepare a good speech, the better your performance during the interview.
- Choose how to dress for the job interview ahead of time.
- Plan your times, check the route you will take to get there and the approximate transfer time since you should not be late.
During the practice interview
During the interview you must respect certain things to increase your chances of being selected.
- Greet the recruiter cordially and formally.
- Sit down once the person invites you to take a seat.
- Smile. This advice is obvious but very important. A recruiter who sees a smiling candidate immediately empathizes.
- Do not repeat what you have learned by heart, you should look natural.
- At the end of the interview, don’t forget to thank the recruiter and remind them that you are very interested in the position.
After the internship interview
Once the day of the interview is over, send a thank you email after the interview, if you can, the next day.
In the email, you can include some of the details that you found most interesting in the interview. In addition, you should indicate that you had a very pleasant time and that you are very interested.
If after several days you do not get a response, you can send a second email to remind you of your interest and to request information about the vacancy.
7. Take care of your image on the Internet
There will be many recruiters looking for you on social networks to get a more complete idea of your profile. If you think there is public information that could give a bad image of you, delete it.
This can be photos in compromising situations or some messages in which your opinion is contrary or opposed to the values of the company where you want to do your professional internship . Take care of your digital image, an oversight could cost you acceptance.
8. Make your profile public on job boards
So that recruiters can also contact you, we recommend that you make your profile or your information public, which means that anyone interested in hiring someone for professional internships will be able to see your resume online and have your data to communicate with you.
People looking for an internship often recruit people on university pages, on LinkedIn, and even on social networks like Facebook. The ideal practice is closer to your possibilities every day. Follow all this information step by step and start your professional career as soon as possible.
