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“No experience is necessary to push yourself past what you think you can do,” said Jesse Itzler, an American entrepreneur. So what is it that is holding you back from gaining experience? Practically nothing can stop you from doing something useful with your knowledge and skill set. Given a chance, you can do wonders in your chosen field, despite no prior work experience. Read on to know more about how to get an internship in big companies and how to get an internship with no experience.
Do you recall the Cheshire Cat in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland saying, “Every adventure requires a first step. Trite, but true, even here?” The lesson encourages you to test yourself, explore new things and be brave enough to step out of your comfort zone. You must keep this in mind when setting out to get internships.
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The Importance of an Internship
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How to Get an Internship
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How to Get an Internship with No Experience
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Increase your Chances to Get an Internship
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How to get an Internship in Big Companies
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Conclusion
The Importance of an Internship
The general purpose of internships is to give students practical orientation in the professional sphere. The best place to gain real experience is outside the classroom, and organizations look at students as prospective employees. Internships introduce students to the job market and open up avenues to businesses and the professional world. Students get insights into the industry, specific products and gain invaluable business knowledge. Internships also help students and young professionals develop the skills and the hands-on training necessary to master certain fields. As internships are extremely important for your professional journey, you must stand out to get an internship. Read on to know more about how to get an internship.
How to Get an Internship
In today’s extremely competitive world, many feel that a busy and robust resume will lead to new work opportunities. However, as students or freshers who are just out of educational institutes, you may not have a work history to highlight. Here are some ways in which you can showcase your employability. Through these tips not only will you learn how to get an internship, but also how to get an internship with no experience:
- Aim at the right career: Identify potential career options for your educational stream. Keep the research targeted to industry sectors that utilize your professional training and knowledge.
- Start early: Applying early increases your chances to get an internship. Apply a year before you graduate to get noticed by prospective employers and job consultants well in time.
- Build your profile: You must carefully curate your resume and try to make it impressive, even if you do not have experience to add to it. As a fresher, you may not have much to discuss in terms of work experience. Hence, it would help to highlight your educational qualities, specializations, certifications, projects and personal qualities to help the recruiter analyze your skill set and suitability to the position for which you have applied.
- Convey your credentials: When applying for an internship you can highlight, besides coursework excellence, your extra-curricular roles, social participation and leadership potential. While your grades and marks speak about your academic performance, your resume should also include points that highlight your other strengths and skills.
How to Get an Internship with No Experience
When you have no prior experience and are applying for the position of an intern, you must market your academic qualifications and skill set diligently to convince the prospective employer that you are better than the other candidates. Follow these steps to answer the question, how to get an internship with No Experience?
- Connect with recruiting consultants: Make use of on-campus recruitment drives and share your candidature for an internship. Also, reach out to career centers and professional job consultants who recommend students to internship programs. They have a direct relationship with companies and organizations and help recruit interns regularly.
- Network with career focal points: Staying informed about your career goals helps you move steadily on the right path. In addition, you can build a job seeker’s profile on organizations’ talent/human resource portals and keep it updated as you upgrade your skills and/or qualifications. Using social media platforms meant for job and internship search, and professional networking is also an option that you may pursue.
You may also join community groups that match your interests and career goals. These special networks increase the probability of landing an internship you desire. You can also join groups on your institute’s website or through social media.
Increase your Chances to Get an Internship
After creating your profile and networking with relevant sources, your next steps may include:
- Keep Developing your Skills: Certain entry-level jobs do not require specific professional experience. Rather, soft skills, including communications, leadership skills, problem-solving and critical thinking abilities, among others, may help you land an internship. You can proactively engage in vocational workshops focused on professional skills or join tech clubs, associations and forums to develop a skill set that prospective employers will find impressive. Some final-year students take online teaching assignments to help strengthen their subject knowledge and improve communication skills.
- Volunteer for Unpaid Internships: An internship is not always for money. Your volunteering in community projects and willingness to take up a short assignment in the area of your interest would add credits to your profile and expand your network.
- Freelance and Promote Yourself: While you are waiting for an internship or a job opportunity, you can make the most of your time by freelancing. Such opportunities help add experience to your resume, strengthen your profile and sharpen your skill set. Freelancing helps you accept different types of work and gain knowledge in exchange. Over time, the client you are engaging with, may even offer an internship or a permanent work opportunity.
- Be Creative: If a traditional internship opportunity is unlikely, or unsuitable, create your own. Speak with your teachers about helping with research studies. Contact businesses in your desired field, even if they have not advertised the requirement for interns. Be specific about what you can contribute, how many hours you can work each week and if you are willing to work for course credit instead of payment.
How to get an Internship in Big Companies
It might seem hard or even impossible at times to get an internship in big companies. However, be assured, it is something that can be accomplished. The key lies in promoting yourself correctly. Once you build your profile and market yourself in the way the employer expects while emphasizing your skills, you are sure to get an internship.
Conclusion
Following this systematic approach aimed towards ‘how to get an internship with no experience’ will certainly help you land an internship. Remember to design your profile with a professional resume, while working on the other preparations required. Harappa’s Write to Get Hired pathway will guide you in professional interviews and for writing effective resumes. This pathway’s teachings will also help you write about and highlight your profile smartly and clearly. A well-written profile attracts the attention of recruiters and helps them shortlist a candidate for a prospective internship. It is proven to be a good resource for young professionals. The pathway will also teach you how to answer generic and specific questions asked during job interviews. You will also learn how to get an internship in big companies with no experience.
