May 23, 2018, by Lucy
My Internship Application Experience
About the Nottingham Internship Scheme
Every year the Nottingham Internship Scheme takes place over the course of the summer holidays. Featuring a huge variety of local and national internship opportunities from a range of business from sectors such as business, research and engineering, almost every possible sector is covered.
Internships offer you the ability to gain skills and experience in roles that will enhance your CV and graduate career prospects. Even if you don’t know what exactly you want to do after graduation, internships will allow you to experience different aspects of work without committing to legitimate full employment.
What I Applied For
The scheme advises that you apply to no more than three internships, allowing you to keep your options relatively open whilst focusing on roles that you are genuinely interested in.
Aware of the growing importance associated with relevant experience, I decided to apply for internships concerning PR, content creation and copywriting – an area which I am keen to learn more about. Although three internships is a relatively large amount of roles to apply for, narrowing down the options was more difficult than I initially thought since many roles were similar and of equal interest. Consequently, I was made to consider a range of things, such as the length of the internship, location and morals of the company. By applying for roles that were not only relevant for my graduate career prospects but that were also in line with my own social attitudes, the application process became sufficiently easier as I was able to genuinely connect with the companies.
The Application Process
All of the internships that I applied for followed the same outline. There were three questions that I was required: why I was applying to the internship specifically, why I was a suitable candidate and a threat that was challenging the sector. Each section required me to give an answer of 2000 characters (not words as I initially thought!!!), equally out to roughly 300-400 words. I found that this word count was just enough for me to showcase my passion for the internships, whilst being concise enough to prevent me from waffling. All in all, the application itself couldn’t have been easier.
The Interview Process
After applying for the roles, I was lucky enough to receive three interviews. As someone who has only ever been in casual employment, I was apprehensive as to what a ‘formal’ job interview would be comprised of. However, I was pleasantly surprised: there were no boardrooms, men in suits or overwhelming jargon… they were somewhat casual. Each interview, or should I say chat, lasted around 30-50 minutes, allowing me to learn more about the internship and business itself, as well as giving the employers a chance to get to know me.
Conclusion
Attending these internships has given me the experience of entering the ‘real world’. My confidence has been boosted and I now feel comfortable when thinking about adjusting to a workplace environment. Each interview has taught me something, whether that’s the importance of body language, the art of selling yourself, or even the value that being able to make someone laughs brings.
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