What makes me special? Writing an internship application.

At one point, every student will have to sit down and start writing applications. I find myself in that situation right now and as I try to puzzle together the right way to explain why I’m the best fit for this internship or this exchange-program, I’ve decided to run to my ‘productive procrastination’ method – blogging.

In all seriousness, how do you explain that you want a position and you are a great fit for it without sounding almost desperate and extremely cliché? How do I write an application without much work experience to fall back on? How do I find a suitable internship for me? I’m not an expert, but I have collected a couple of points that have helped me.

1. Collect your thoughts 

I’m laughing a bit about myself for writing this, because this is exactly what I try to do, but somehow always get distracted. Nevertheless, collecting your thoughts is important. The internship I’m applying for now, for example, had a couple of questions you were supposed to answer. Instead of just writing as I go, I have made a little mind map about positive attributes I have, which will be relevant to this particular internship. This method also includes collecting thoughts about why this particular attribute is relevant.

2. Inform yourself 

There are loads of possibilities out there in terms of internships, but if you just apply for the first ones you find, you might not find the most suitable internship for you. Pop by the Careers and Employability services and ask what they have available, check what is available through your course and think outside the box. Valuable work experience is everywhere.

3. Lacking work experience 

Make up for it by explaining what skills your course/volunteering/societies have given you. These are things we often forget, but even having done sports in the past can be valuable. For example, playing handball taught me how to play on a team and possess good team spirit, whilst playing tennis has taught me to work independently. Through my course we learn extensively about critical thinking, how to see cases from new perspectives and how to discipline ourselves/plan ahead and take responsibility for getting work done.

A picture of campus is always appropriate – especially when the light (and weather) is this nice as it was last week.

These are just a couple of things that might help when you write your applications. You might have read fellow blogger Emma’s blog post on how to tackle an interview. As she also mentioned, the University’s Career and Employability Services located in Building 37 on Highfield Campus are one of the many perks of being a student here at Southampton. You can go there to get advice on your CV, writing your application, what you can do with your degree, how to turn your idea into a business and so many other things. They also run regular workshops which are definitely worth having a look at.

Alexandra