Are you hunting for an internship?! Then keep reading; you are at the right place!
Note: All the points mentioned are my own experience, and I explained them from my perspective.
What is a good/ bad internship for me?
To understand what to expect from your future profession, it makes sense to take an internship. But “internship” does not mean that you will be doing someone else’s routine and bringing coffee. An internship helps you enhance your skills and be ready to become a full-time employee.
Internships are designed in such a way that graduates have something to offer to the employer after university. This is a good opportunity to get into an environment of professional people to learn from their experience.
Some companies use internships to hire a temporary person to offload current employees’ tasks but get nothing in return. Sometimes an intern is taken simply as a labor force, given tasks for which the average employee is paid good money. Obviously, you should not be interested in such “internships” and advertisements in which the company is vaguely describing the requirements and tasks and does not indicate that employment is possible; it is better to ignore.
What a good internship is:
- the company is recruiting interns to then hire them;
- you understand by what criteria your work is evaluated in the process;
- you are paid a salary (albeit small);
- you are completing tasks from the area you are striving for.
What can you do before applying?
I would advise you to study companies that are interesting for you – read descriptions, conditions, subscribe to their accounts on social networks. Companies often post vacancies in university groups, arrange meetings and masterclasses. In addition, I would also recommend you to read the feedback of current and previous employees of the company on Indeed.
If you are just starting to work, then it is worth looking at short-term internships (summer and winter format) to try a new direction, to understand whether the specialty is right for you or not, and also to gain experience that can then be indicated in the resume. And only after you have decided on a position that interests you can you consider starting positions in companies and long-term internships. Many companies advertise their internships on social media pages, go to job fairs, where they talk about programs and answer questions.
If you are a student, you should first try to follow the path of least resistance and understand whether any career events are organized at your university – there; you can immediately meet representatives of companies of interest, exchange contacts, or leave a resume. Hereby, I would recommend you to the internship fair of the University of Tartu. I know some of my friends got their internship offers after participating in that event.
If there is nothing like that – well, most employers have a separate section on their website dedicated to internships and is updated on time. Therefore, at first, it will not be superfluous to draw up a “map of companies” that are of interest to you and precisely track career opportunities.
Which platforms to check for internships in Estonia?
In addition to the career pages of the companies in Estonia, the best platforms for you to find the internship would be as follows:
- cv.ee
- University newsletter
- Career fairs
Which platforms to check for the internships in the European Union?
In case you are interested in doing an internship outside Estonia, then I would recommend you to check the Erasmus Traineeship Grant. For this, you can have more information opportunities provided by the University of Tartu by clicking this link.
To find internships within the European Union, you can erasmusintern.org.
I hope my advice will help you find your dream internship and get the most out of it!
