Marion Harel is a third year commerce student, majoring in HR, who shared her thoughts on finding an internship and what she learnt from the experience.

#1 Be sure you’re ready
To get the most out of your internship, I think it helps if you feel confident in your course content and level of industry knowledge. Make sure you know enough about your chosen field to not feel overwhelmed during your placement.

#2 Don’t discount any opportunity
One thing I have discovered with my two internships is that all organisations are different, and you can still learn a lot whether it is with one of the Big Four or in a small business. Each organisation has so much to teach you and you shouldn’t underestimate an organisation just because you never heard of it before.

With any internship opportunity, consider what you want to get out of the experience, the type of work an organisation does, their location and other important factors.

#3 Have your application ready to go
Organisations will often ask you to send in your cover letter and/or resume, therefore, you should have strong application documents ready to go so you can respond to an opportunity as soon as possible. If you need help writing a cover letter and resume, Curtin Careers is a great place to start!

#4 Put yourself out there
Unfortunately, internships don’t just fall into your lap – you have to proactively seek them out! Do not be scared to ask your networks and Curtin Careers for help. If you’re active on LinkedIn, you could post your interest in finding an internship – your contacts may connect you with an opportunity.

You can also directly contact organisations that interest you. Do some research on the company and have your ‘sales pitch’ ready to go. Curtin Careers can provide support with cold canvassing companies for internship opportunities.

Another way to ‘put yourself out there’ is with Studium, a platform which connects you with jobs and internships. It is very easy to use, and the team is committed, friendly and supportive.

Studium prompts you to build an online profile highlighting your attributes, values and strengths, allowing organisations to have a better idea of who you are before getting in contact with you.

I signed up with Studium and within a few days they connected me with Keystart, who were looking for an intern. I will definitely be using Studium when I start looking for full-time jobs in the future.

My advice
If you are thinking about applying for an internship to gain experience, the best advice I can give you is to commit to it. During my internships, I was able to apply the content I had learnt in class and further my knowledge of relevant industry practices. I now feel extremely ready to start fulltime work in a few months, and I have experience in my field to put on my resume as well as industry-related referees.

Hear more about Marion’s experience with Studium.