Much more than making coffee- Summer internships examined | Audrey Ellard Walsh
Deputy Editor Audrey Ellard Walsh assesses the benefits of interning during the summer months. She also turns the table on an employer and provides invaluable tips on what could set you apart from the herd.
It’s approaching the time of the year when we begin to think about what the summer will entail. Some are booking J1s, some are just looking forward to three months of undisturbed rest. Others, and I recommend this, are taking the proactive route and seeking work experience and internships.I completed a summer internship (“stage”) with European Movement Ireland in 2011 and found it to be one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. Not only did the job afford me opportunities to meet important political actors and gain behind the scenes access to the Houses of the Oireachtas and other political offices in Dublin, I gained a wealth of transferable clerical, research and event management skills. Having solid work experience with a renowned organisation on my CV is something which I am confident will help me in the future. As I spoke to other former interns I discovered that there is truly a wealth of opportunity out there, either through formal or informal routes.Cíara is a final year Commerce student. As is an option in her course, she spent 6 months last summer on placement. She worked in Citi Bank, Northwall Quay, Dublin as a member of their Proxy and ICSD teams and her placement was organised through the Career’s Office.“I learnt time management. I got into routine of getting up at a certain time, going to bed at a certain time. I had to manage my time better so when I was free I learnt to do what I wanted to do in that time. I gained great computer skills as well because a lot of what I was doing.Asked if she recommends interning, Cíara says: “Definitely. No doubt about it. It was a great opportunity. It gives me something to talk about in a future interview and also, I can look for jobs similar to it now and I have experience in that area.”“It’s definitely a huge asset for when you finish your degree so even if you’re not doing a degree where there is a placement opportunity you should definitely strive to do one during the summer. Before I did this internship I interned with a Senator in the Oireachtas for three months between 1st and 2nd year and that helped me get my placement and will hopefully help me again in the future to get a proper job.”That said, it is not all plain sailing. Brian, a Computer Science graduate from Cork recalls the frustrations of his internship with Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Dublin, notably the fact that he received little say in the hiring process. “I would have liked more of a say in which company hired me. After all, many of these placements require a move across country, if not the continent… I wasn’t very pleased with having to move to Dublin to spend six months in a job I assumed I’d have little interest in.”Therein lies the issue for a number of students. While the benefits are numerous (even in this case, a generous salary), there are often drawbacks. Brian was placed by the UCC Careers Service. He commends their role in ensuring that all students in his course were successful in finding placement, though notes that closer to their self-imposed deadline, students wishes were taken less into account, though he also accepts that his lack of interview skills were a factor here.As well as this, Brian feels that being placed in such a mammoth company was a drawback. Despite having an impressive name on his CV, he feels as though his duties were often meaningless and led to him experiencing little more than clerical office duties such as transferring holidays between virtual calendars. The hierarchal system in place in the company meant that approval was needed for the simplest of tasks and, ultimately, reduced the benefits of his experience on the whole.Niamh is a Law and Irish student. Her course affords students a whole year of placement, four months of which time she spent interning at the Office of the Press Ombudsman, Westmoreland Street, Dublin. She found out about the position from her course co-ordinator who organised the placement for her.“I assisted the Press Ombudsman and the Case Officer with the complaints procedure which is the main function of the Office. This involved preparation and analysis of case files. I also undertook a research project on behalf of the Press Ombudsman which involved examining the public profile of the office and its relationship with the member publications. I learned a lot about the Press Industry in Ireland.”“I developed great skills when I was on my placement and I hope that these skills will help me in finding work when I graduate.”If you have found an internship or placement that interests you, you may ask what you should be doing next to prepare an application and hopefully, prepare for interview.My former boss Jenny Flynn, Communications and Membership Manager with EMI has some advice for those looking to make a CV and cover letter stand out.“Particularly in the cover letter, attention to detail in terms of simple things like spelling and grammar are important, be sure that the dates are correct and that dates on the cover letter match dates on the CV, those little things show attention to detail. Another useful thing is to show that you’ve tailored your CV for the position because if you get an email with an attachment and the CV is for another position it gives the impression that the person isn’t hugely interested or enthusiastic in the position, so if you can make the effort to tailor it a little bit, those little things show that it is this specific position you are interested in and not just a general internship and that is always a positive thing for an employer to see.”A good interview is vital in getting hired. Jenny has some tips on standing out from the crowd; “Most important is that the person shows that they are familiar with the organisation and the company, that they have done a bit of research online, they’ve read some of your material. People get very nervous in interview situations but it’s always great if you can get over those nerves and be prepared to open up and chat, engage with the interviewers. So if you can get over those initial nerves and actually have a proper conversation with your interviewers it reflects better on you.”“It’s also useful if people can give specific examples. People tend to discount experiences they may have had in secondary school or in college. Don’t feel that you only need to be pulling stuff from the last year. Feel free to draw from all your experiences to really reflect all of your skills.”Jenny stresses the benefits of interning for students: “It is so important to have experience on your CV. There is so much competition out there for jobs now that internships will give you the skills and experiences that you wouldn’t get otherwise. They’ll help you make contacts in the area that you want to work in. They help you make up your mind about whether you like a specific area. It helps you identify what skills you have and gives you an opportunity to work on other areas. You can go on to apply for jobs and give concrete examples of events you helped organise, projects you’ve run or research you’ve done and just to be able to say you have experience working in an office with a team is really fantastic and always will reflect well on you.”