With the 2010 summer internship students and many graduates already in Sydney and Melbourne we are looking ahead for the 2011 internship season at Intern Options.  The 2010 summer internship programme was our most popular yet with applications up 75% on last year.

This article will give you some food for thought and  start off your research, so you will have plenty of time to find a really good summer internship in 2010!

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If you’re a US applicant please click here:

Summer 2010 Internships for US college students/ graduates




Firstly what is a summer internship and why should I do one?

The major reason is experience, experience, experience.  Anyone reading the papers these days would have seen article after article on the lack graduate jobs, on average 50 people applying for one job.  In some industries like finance, accounting, marketing, PR etc that will be much higher.

There have been a few articles lately on lack of graduate jobs:

BBC article: Graduates ‘face record unemployment’

BBC article: Graduates going to great lengths to get ahead

So how do you differentiate yourself from your classmates, or the other thousands of students at UK universities who will be graduating with you, with the same degree on paper?

Well you might have guessed it already, work experience on your CV.  A summer internship is a great way of getting some very good international work experience on your CV.  This will not only greatly improve your chance of getting that all important graduate job, it will lead to you applying your theory, learnt on your course over the next year and give you the skills to shine in a job interview.

Paid Summer Internships or Unpaid Summer Internships?

Well the first preference in this area is always to a paid internship.  Obviously you want to be paid right? Well have a think about the other side of the coin for a second, I hear you, you can’t work for free!

BUT, the goal is quality work experience on your CV isn’t it?

The unpaid position you will be offered will be:

• Customised – so will be in the area you want experience in, if you studying marketing then you could be placed into a sports marketing internship or an events marketing internship or fashion marketing internship

• Higher starting position – much better starting position than you could walk into in a paid role with your job confirmed before you leave the UK
• Focused on your Learning – your not working for a wage, you’re working to learn and get quality experience, so this is the focus rather than the “are you worth the £15,000 salary we are paying you”.  So there won’t be any making tea or doing the photocopying, you will be getting stuck in to some really good work, in your career area.

This article will give you some food for thought and hopefully start you thinking about how you could get that first bit of really good experience on your CV next summer.

For more information on planning your 2010 summer internship, or to talk to the experts on Australia & New Zealand, see the 2011 summer internships page.

On there you will see dedicated pages for internships in all professional areas from fashion, finance, accounting, events, design, film and many more.  You will also see company and position descriptions under each industry to help you start.

So if you have just started university or are in your second year, have a think about what work experience you want to get on your CV next year and get in touch with Intern Options to have a chat with someone who has lived and worked in Australia (they know).

To see example company and position descriptions in your subject area, click through to the Summer 2011 Internships page for full details.

To talk through the kind of internship we can look at for you in 2010, or if you have any questions on Australia or New Zealand, pick up the phone and call the experts on 0207 353 7699.




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Articles in the Summer 2010 Internships series

This is the fourth article in the Summer 2010 Internship series, if you missed the first three articles, don’t fear you can check them out here:

Article One – Summer 2011 Internships – Where to Start

Article Two – Summer 2011 Internships – How to Budget

Article Three – Summer 2011 Internships – What’s the Big Deal

Article Four – Summer 2011 Internships – What do Employers Think

Article Five – Summer 2011 Internships – Get Work Experience Early

One last thing, check out this article, it’s a goodie!

Top Internship Questions Your Parents Will Ask

Cheers for now

Jon – Intern Options