Looking for internship placement

When thinking about a suitable place for the internship, consider what are your own goals for the traineeship and what do you want to gain from it. Maybe you want to find out more about a specific field or understand how different kinds of organizations work. Maybe you already have a clear vision for your future career and you want to develop your skills to move towards your vision. 

You may want to consider eg. the following:

• What are the learning goals and guidelines for the internship in my degree programme? 
• Which fields of work or industries are you interested in and want to explore? 
• What skills and competences do you want to develop in particular? 
• What kinds of tasks would you like to do in your work?
• Which values do you want to cherish in your work? 
• For what kind of an employer do you want to work for? 
• What skills and knowledge have you already mastered and which of them do you want to use during traineeship?

Before you start your internship, it is a good idea to write an internship plan that includes, for example, what you expect from your future internship and what you are trying to achieve while doing it. You can come back to your plan during your internship, for example with the supervisor assigned to you at the workplace. Reflecting on your own goals before the internship also supports writing the internship report afterwards. 

Optionally, you can also write learning diary during your internship. Learning diary can be personal and only for your own use.  

Interns work in a variety of positions for various employers

Applying for a internship placement is also part of the internship process. Reflecting on one’s skills and goals and getting used to communicating about them also provides competences for job searching after graduation. Reflection about potential jobs and employers done during the internship will also help you to map out your options after graduation. Look at different options curiously and boldly - the possibilities are usually much wider than you might think at first!

The internship may be found in a company, municipality, government office or organization in Finland or abroad. You can also think more closely about what types of tasks would make your goals, dreams and skills meet. Trainees work in a variety of roles, including:

• doing research and writing reports
• customer interaction
• undertaking client or user surveys
• information search, analysis and reporting
• producing, editing and proof-reading written materials
• communications
• producing content for a website
• event planning
• planning education and producing educational materials
• training
• participation in projects
• taking care of international contacts
• or something else…

Please note that all these tasks may be found with different employers in government offices, municipalities, associations and organizations as well as in companies.

Describe your skills

When you are searching for a internship placement, the employer is interested in the applicant’s skills as in regular job search. Internships are often the first work experience related to one’s field of study and, in the application phase, it is worthwhile to think extensively about your experiences in different areas of life where you already have a variety of skills.

It is a good idea to reflect on the competences you have gained from your studies, leisure time interests, activities and hobbies as well as summer jobs and voluntary activities eg in NGOs. Can you use such knowledge in the internship?

It is also worth bearing in mind that internships are part of a learning process so you do not need to master all your tasks at the application stage. Internships also include guidance, and the employer assigns a supervisor for you.

Employers are often interested in why applicants want to work for them. Reflecting on how the internship is linked to your studies and future plans also helps to communicate your motivations to the employer.

Some further sources of information on looking for an internship:

• JobTeaser lists all the open positions, internships and thesis projects that employers have posted students. Please remember to use the search fuctionalities to look for ads from the fields of your interests. You can also subscribe to the vacancy watch in order to receive vacancies to your e-mail. Check out also UP Career tips! 
• Job search skills -site at the Student's Handbook
• BusinessTampere provides a good checklist for international job seekers