Is now the time, to start looking for an internship? You have found offers on our website that called your attention or you want to find your internship? It is important to take your time to thoroughly think about the kind of internship you have in mind and then write your CV. You will not have another chance to make a good first impression. Check out our Coaching section to optimize your application. If you are applying for our internship offers, one of our consultants will explain in detail all the steps which are relevant to successfully improve your candidacy.

Your CV: useful and effective information!

A student resume must provide specific information to which you should pay close attention. While searching for an internship you have to know what to include in your CV.

First: Your CV for the internship should mention your preferred time period for the internship. The period of your internship can depend on the requirements of your University or country. As no recruiter has complete knowledge about the requirements of every University it is important to mention this information. If you are flexible with the start and end dates for your internship, please mention this! Do not lose the opportunity of your life just because the recruiter thinks that you are not available in the required period.

Missions: It is important that the recruiter knows from the beginning if you are looking for i.e. a HR, Marketing or Front Office position. No one can guess what your preferred internship position is. Keep in mind that the recruiter doesn’t know you!

You should also remember to organize given information in your resume, in this way you can demonstrate your professionalism. There are many options. If you are already on your master’s program, or if you already have several professional experiences, then focus on the experience and skills development. Think about being concise: from the most recent to the oldest job + period of each experience + name of the company + position occupied. It is a good opportunity to mention all the skills and competencies you already have.

If you don’t have any experience yet and you are not sure which information to provide in your CV, don’t panic! Our advice is: start with the ‘education’ section. In this part you can specify your competencies in addition you can mention the subjects of your studies and the kinds of experiences you gained during your studies: working in a group, working under time pressure, with tight deadlines, paying attention to details, being self-organized… whatever reflects your experiences. You don’t need to write in detail about every course or activity that you participated in while studying. The purpose is to highlight the aspects which could be relevant for a company.

Language Level

In most cases, the internship position depends of the languages that you speak, from intermediate level to your mother tongue. If you had a Mandarin initiation course 3 years ago … it is not relevant, as you can probably not work with this language at a professional level.

For internships in Europe, you should use the European scale (B1, B2, C1 …). Hereby, C2 is the mother tongue level or means that the person is bilingual. Mentioning that you can speak English – ‘Cambridge level’ is not a sufficient proof that you are very fluent at this language!

Please keep in mind, that you always have to be honest about the level of the languages you can speak. Almost for sure, during the interview your languages level will be checked, so to avoid awkward situations, it is better to be honest with the information you mention in your CV. Also remember to list your native language. Sometimes, your native language, even though it is obvious for you, is not clear for the recruiter. Remember that he/ she doesn’t know you and sees CV’s of applicants from all over the world every day. In this way, mentioning your native language you will make be more efficient for both sides.

The Picture

Whether you need to attach a picture of yourself in your CV or not depends on your country of destination. If you for example apply for an internship in the UK, it is better to not enclose a picture in your application. In the UK it is common to leave the picture, which is considered a must in other countries, out. If you are applying for any other country, you can usually attach it. For an internship connected with Hotel Management, Front Office and the like it is highly recommended to provide a picture.

The photo itself is a crucial element in of your application! I must be a professional picture, which is: your recent look, with hair tidily combed, shaved/ make up (subtle). It is an ID type of picture. Clothing: you should avoid wearing too low necklines and wearing some tracksuit or other perhaps comfy clothes which more suitable for wearing in you free time. In this day it is better to dress more formally and professionally. Smiling in the CV picture is more than welcome-however, avoid choosing one where you are in the coffee shop or at the beach with your friends. Also, don’t include into your CV a picture where you are in the car, with your sunglasses on or with all your friends next to you. Inappropriate are as well selfies with funny face expressions i.e. duckface. All what your photo should demonstrate is, that you are a professional applicant, in this case smiling slightly is sufficient.

Interests

You can make your CV more attractive through mentioning only personal interests which are relevant for the position you apply for. For example, if you play sports at professional level, you have your own blog, you manage the social network for the club it is worth to mention… but to say that you like to read, enjoy going to the movies love music is less relevant.

Aesthetic

The general presentation of your CV also counts a lot as it creates the first impression. Choose a neutral format for your CV and follow the regular standards (do not use too many different styles/designs at once). The text must be justified. The general presentation can demonstrate several of your competencies: paying attention to details, self-organized, analytical skills… Many skills that recruiter can notice.

Finally, to mention about a CV in the English language: it is required to write an introduction paragraph at the top of the CV right after the contact information. In general, while applying for any position in the UK we don’t recommend attaching the photo to your CV. Instead you should pay special attention to the translation (grammar, spelling).

Once your CV is ready, you should convert it into PDF format. Sending your CV in Word form is not really professional. Do not forget to include in you CV: your name + surname + phone number, then your CV is perfect. Also, there is nothing worse than the attachment named i.e. ‘CVghehgoejgioej’… trust us, you will lose your opportunity before the actual recruitment process starts.

How to present your application via E-Mail

Unfortunately, creating a professional CV is not the only aspect you need to work on when sending your application to a company. Also, you need to pay attention to the e-mail that you are sending. Nowadays most applications are managed either via e-mail or via online Platforms. Concerning online applications, you won’t have many options to personalize them. Just take care of the details, as always, and fill in the fields as precisely as you can. On the other hand, when you send a candidacy via email, you have the opportunity to differentiate yourself. So, it is good to keep our advice in mind.

Essential: choose your e-mail address. With your friends ‘crazylola@30…’ is alright, but when you want to send your application, you have to create a more professional/ classic address such as name.surname@… This way your application already looks a lot more professional.

How to address the recruiter in your e-mail and present your application: It can be a text that is as a motivation/ presentation letter as well. The most important thing is to personalize it. It is more than obvious for the recruiter if you write the same text for all companies. A personalised letter to each company makes the recruiter realize, that the candidate has a serious approach. Who said that looking for an internship is not looking for work itself?

Another very important information to mention in your message is: what offers do you apply for? Most companies publish several offers at once, and they might not know which one you are interested in. To optimize your application even more, from the 1st paragraph indicate: the title of the vacancy, the link if you still have it. In this way you are helping the recruiter a lot, and believe us, you will make and excellent impression. Also remember the starting and ending dates of your internship. Highlight the most important information and remember to put your signature, e-mail and phone number. Even if it is already included in your CV.

And please keep in mind: never answer to the e-mail of the recruiter with the question what position you applied for!

The letter of motivation

The debate about the cover letter persists: obsolete or useful. Without entering the debate, we will give you some advice if you want to write one. As in the e-mail, some information must appear in your letter: length of the internship, period, working days, your university, vacancy that you are applying for. Everything should be in 1st paragraph.

Also think about explaining in you letter the reason why you are applying for this internship, your competencies which might be useful for this position and which can support the company. You should also explain why this experience is going to help in your field of studies and future career. The cover letter is intended to ‘sell’ but also value the company (without exaggerating).

Do not forget about the forms of saying goodbye, you should be professional until the end.

The art of the cover letter is to provide the most important information, to catch the recruiters attention in a positive way, and be concise at the same time. The is no need to write 5 pages, because the recruiter will read your letter just diagonally (in most of the cases) in order to find most relevant information about you.

Internet Presence

When you are starting to search for an internship, it is important to take care of how you are seen on the Internet. If you are looking for an internship with events in a luxury hotel, it is important to have neutral pictures on all your profiles. Hotels will most likely check your online profiles, and if you are in ostentatious clothes or if your pictures are from ‘wild parties’, afterwards those details can be significant and decisive if your candidature is good for this position. In this case, it is better to stick to professional/neutral pictures on your social media profiles during your search for an internship.

A successful internship interview

Your candidacy caught the attention of the recruiter and finally the moment of the interview arrived. First thing do not panic, after all it’s very good news.

Whether the interview is face-to-face or, as common for international internships, via Skype or telephone, there are some basic rules that you need to keep in mind:

  1. Dress code appropriate. But you do not see me by phone, you will say. Indeed, but it will allow you to “get in the mood”. Doing it in pajamas while watching TV does not promise good omens.
  2. A recruitment interview is also a key moment for the recruiter to detect your possible defects (mismanagement of stress, high shyness, difficulty of elocution …). So train with a friend, in front of the ice … to test your body language and your body language.
  3. Answer typical interview questions. You will probably be asked to talk about your previous professional experience, why you are applying for a particular position, what you understand / know about the company and so on.
  4. Prepare your own questions: ask questions which will show your interest in the company and the vacancy. It is also a chance to think once again about the offer. An interview is not a one-sided talk but rather an opportunity for both, the candidate and the company, to clarify everything and make a good decision.

Remember that the interview is not the best moment improvise. You have to be well prepared. For the interview in English language, our advice are the same, but you also have to prepare your vocabulary, you will have to be able to talk about your motivations and experiences. Think about revising the vocabulary related to the business sector and the position that you applying for, this will help you feel more confident.

To read more about how to prepare for an interview, we invite you to read our Blog articles.

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