One of the easiest way to land your dream job is by interning. The following is a practical approach to land your first internship position. I used this approach to land 2 posts in the past and I would like to share them with you as my contribution to your career development.
Before I proceed, this is why you should start your career by interning with organizations within your industry.
Advantages of graduate internship
- An internship position is easier to secure than a full time job
- It places you at a higher competitive advantage in the job market
- An internship experience will prepare you for the job proper
- It will help you grow a quality network of professionals in your industry
- Opportunity to earn while you learn (some organizations pay their interns well)
- Even if you want to own a business, it is a shortcut to getting practical experience before starting.
The approach I used to land two internship opportunities
- I decided on the industries where I would like to work. One of my highest choices was the Legal industry.
- I conducted a Google search for top law firms in Nigeria
- I narrowed my search to the ones in Lagos and two other states in South West
- I visited the websites of my choice law firms and checked the ‘Practice’, ‘About’ and ‘Our People’ pages to get familiar with the values of the firms and also get to know the decision makers.
- I then sent the message below to the second most senior person on ‘Our People’ page
- I also attached my CV to the mail. If you don’t have any job experience, add your youth service or any position you held during school and list your duties.
- I repeated the steps above for 10 law firms and followed up with one phone call, one email after 2 weeks.
- The firm that was interested in my application got in touch with me.
The message I sent
Expression of interest to intern in your organisation as a (position)
My name is (my name). I am a graduate of (course) from (institution). I am interested in (my course in adjective form – e.g. Business Administration) and I admire your organization’s value on administration which is why I would like to intern with you.
In recent years, I have gathered both practical and theoretical know-how of business administration to some extent, as such, I am assuring you that I will be a valuable addition to your team throughout my stay.
Some of my skills are (list up to 4 skills). I am a (list attributes – e.g, fast learner, good listener, etc).
I anticipate your favorable response.
Thank you.
My name.
The above is just a guide of what worked for me.
Did you previously worked as an intern?
How did you land the position?
What was the experience like?
Although I already have my dream job, this is really great information! Thanks for the post! 🙂
I was an intern the summer after I finished college, as a graduation requirement. I sent out applications and was lucky enough to land a great one.
An internship is a great opportunity. It can help with your dream job but also it can help you find out another direction to take too. Definitely worth the effort.
this is such great advice – i’m going to share it with my niece because this is so right up her alley
Best wishes to your niece!
great tips for anyone ready to venture out in the professional world!