Henrietta Cameron, Internships Adviser, explains all you need to know about internships.
You’ve probably heard people talking about internships; maybe a few of your pals have plans to do one this summer. Maybe you are thinking about it but not quite sure what the benefits are, or you might be thinking it’s too late… (spoiler – it’s not!)
So, what is an internship?
According to our website: “An internship is a period of structured work experience which may relate closely to your career goals. The experience should enhance your career and personal development, allowing you to develop knowledge and skills to inform your career choices.”
The Employ.ed internship programmes are run by the Careers Service and offer structured paid internships in the University and small organisations that are only open to our students and graduates.
And, why are internships beneficial?
An internship is a great way to spend your summer and there are tons of benefits beyond getting paid (which all Employ.ed internships are). We asked last year’s Employ.ed on Campus interns what specific benefits they got out of their internship – the top responses were:
- New skills
- New connections
- Confidence
- Research design
- Office etiquette
- Friends
- Careers/employability skills
- Insight into academia and higher education
- Project management
- Patience
Cait (Equalities Monitoring Intern, Sociology & Social Policy student) said: “I was provided with the chance to see what office 9-5 life is like and in such an inclusive and friendly environment”
Rue (Edinburgh Future Institute Intern, Psychology & Business student) said; This experience was a truly mind-opening one: it has definitely influenced how I’ll steer my career goals going forward”
Sean (Work Experience Impact Intern, Politics with Quantitative Methods student) said: “I have improved my transferable skills, especially my capacity for using my initiative, my time management and my ability to provide solutions to complex problems”
Amalie (Podcast Intern, Politics student) said: “I have learned invaluable communication skills, gained heaps of confidence and showed myself that I can manage a project. I have met amazing people and I never expected to leave my internship feeling this happy! I have also gained a part-time job from it!”
Is it too late? How do I get an internship?
No! We are advertising Employ.ed on Campus internships on MyCareerHub from 3rd Feb – 23rd February. And, advertising Employ.ed in an SME internships in late March.
And, there are lots of other internships outside of Employ.ed being advertised on MyCareerHub throughout the year
More information about Employ.ed including eligibility, case studies and how to get support is on the website: https://www.ed.ac.uk/careers/looking-for-work/internships/employed
(Wordle image credit: WordArt.com)
