5 Tips to Find Your First Internship

Sponsored by Nottingham Business School

Graduates today face the toughest job market in decades. Students leaving university over the next few years will be likely to face increasing competition and a shrinking number of graduate opportunities.

To market yourself to recruiters, it’s vital that you start thinking about ways to differentiate yourself right now. One method is, of course, via work experience.

Whatever your trade, having internships on your CV before leaving university tells prospective employers that you have experienced office environments, are committed to your career and have some knowledge of the industry you’d like to work in.  

Sadly, students often struggle with finding those first internships with zero prior work experience and only a vague notion of what they’d like to do… Read on for some simple steps to break through that first internship barrier.   

Writing your first CV is always a bit of a catch 22: you need a CV to apply for your first internships and jobs, but haven’t yet got much to include. Or at least you think you don’t. In truth, you probably have lots to mention. Consider personal hobbies and extracurricular interests, volunteering and part-time work, and all the skills and knowledge acquired during your studies. What skills do you have that an employer could use? This could be anything from research and planning, to social media community building or Photoshop. Instead of organizing your CV based on employment, list your key skills and then give concrete examples of how you’ve acquired and utilized each one.

Your university’s career service is not just a place to discuss different career paths; it’s also a way of connecting with a large network of professionals and businesses. Find out about the alumni network and how you can make use of this, and ask about any mentoring or placement schemes. Attend networking events organized by your university, or contact alumni with interesting-sounding job titles directly – building these connections will help you find out about different sectors, and hear about new openings.