Obtaining internships
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Transcript of Obtaining internships
Obtaining Internships Student Development
Obtaining Internships
Edward Mosley & Richard Mendez
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Overview
• The process
• Where to search for opportunities
• Articulating your skills to employers
• What to do before, during and after your internship
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Activity: Internship clinic
• Mention a concern or issue you have when trying to obtain internships or work experience in general
Examples:
• I don’t know what career I want, therefore I am unsure what work experience to do.
• I don’t know where to look for opportunities.
• So far I have just received rejections from employers. I don’t know what I am doing wrong.
• We will revisit these later on in the session
www.le.ac.uk/slc
What next?
• Before applying for internships, it is important to determine what your overall goal/objective is.
• Some key questions:
- Do you know what career you want?
- If so, have you researched this area thoroughly?
- If not, have you investigated your options?
www.le.ac.uk/slc
The process you should undertake
Determine career interests (see a careers adviser if uncertain)
Research the industry (trends, major players etc)
Identify and research suitable employers within your area of interest
Start your application and ensure you evidence skills with examples
Identify what skills and competencies the employer wants
Application must illustrate enthusiasm for the internship
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Where to find internships
• www.milkround.com
• www.fledglings.net
• www.iaeste.org.uk
• Work-related Learning web pages www.le.ac.uk/wrl
• On-campus career fairs & employer workshops (go to www.le.ac.uk/studentdevelopment)
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Searching for opportunities
Any other ideas/sources?
• Share your ideas
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Approaches
• Formal advertised internship opportunities usually offered by larger employers. These typically run over the summer time, or as a 12-month industrial placement.
• Structured internship opportunities through the University of Leicester. Various internship opportunities usually with small/medium employers within the East Midlands.
• Speculative approach. For situations where the employer has not officially advertised an internship opportunity.
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Activity: Recruiter
Imagine you are the recruiter for the role of a trainee intern Pharmacologist
•Examine the role descriptor (to follow)
•Then examine the handout of a CV application for that role
•Identify the good and bad points of the CV as an application for the role
•What would you do differently?
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Pharmacologist (trainee)
Pharmacologists investigate how potential medicines interact with biological systems, (using cells or animal tissues or whole animals) to predict what effect the drug might have in humans. They also conduct research to aid drug development.
Work activities:
• Laboratory-based, working as part of a scientific research team
• Planning and conducting controlled experiments
• Using computers to collect, analyse and interpret complex data
• Writing up research reports and presenting at conferences
• Planning, coordinating and supervising the duties of other technical staff
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Articulating your skills to employers - CV
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Articulating your skills – application form
Competence-based questions
Please demonstrate a time when you have worked effectively within a team to fulfill a task.
[Overview of situation here]
[Explanation of skills and processes in the next paragraph]
[End by describing what you learnt and mention a positive outcome]
Ensure you answer the question
Briefly explain the situation
Explain the skills and processes in detail
Positive outcome and what you learnt
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Articulating your skills – application form
Personal Statement
Please outline any skills, experiences and achievements in support of your application
How I meet the requirements:
Specific skill(s) with an example:
End with an enthusiastic statement:
(example) I would make a valuable contribution to the work and reputation of Ashford Brent & Associates Ltd. As such I would like to express my enthusiasm to take up this new appointment. I look forward to hearing from you.
Use themed sub-headings and paragraphs
Firstly, summarise how you meet the requirements
Highlight each skill and give an example to back up your point
Ending statement should illustrate your enthusiasm.
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Articulating your skills – speculative covering letter
4 or 5 paragraphs
Demonstrate interest & knowledge of employer
Demonstrate relevant skills or experiences
Ask for informal meeting
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Activity: Most employable?
Quick-fire statements to follow
• Please can everyone stand-up
• If your answer to any of the following series of statements is no, please sit down and remain seated
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Activity: Most employable?
• Those who have not attended a careers fair, employer talk or a recognition award programme (e.g. tomorrow's managers) in the last 12 months, sit down
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Activity: Most employable?
• Those who have not seen a careers advisor in the last 12 months, please sit down
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Activity: Most employable?
• Those who have not updated their CVs in the last 6 months, please sit down
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Activity: Most employable?
• Finally, those who have not begun to explore/look into relevant internship or work experience opportunities, please sit down.
www.le.ac.uk/slc
CONCLUSION:
• For those who are still standing, you are on the right track
• For those of you who are sitting down, start to benchmark the actions of those standing up
• Therefore ensure you:
- see a careers advisor/myself to get your CV checked- update your CV- begin researching some form of relevant internship or work experience
Activity: Most employable?
www.le.ac.uk/slc
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Research employers that you are interested in working for – websites, contacting personnel dept for information etc.
Establish your own learning outcomes
Prepare a log book or diary to record achievements
Things to do before your internship
National Council for Work Experience (2006)
Apply early
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Ensure you are assigned a mentor
Meet regularly with your mentor to discuss your progress
Maintain your logbook/diary of achievements
Things to do during your internship
National Council for Work Experience (2006)
Methodically review your learning outcomes
Ask the employer to act as a referee when you apply for jobs in the future
Request an exit interview to discuss how you can develop further
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Use your logbook/diary to update your CV and articulate your skills
Things to after your internship
National Council for Work Experience (2006)
Diary
Log book
www.le.ac.uk/slc
Activity: Work experience clinic - PART 2
• The issues/problems listed, to be addressed
www.le.ac.uk/slc
www.le.ac.uk/slcWork-related Learning consultations
• Academic-related work placements • Summer internships• Help with your CVs and application forms
Richard Mendez, Work-related Learning Manager Edward Mosley, Enterprise Learning Officer