A reoccurring trend seen amongst our clients is candidates inquiring whether not having an internship under the belt puts them at a disadvantage during the application. Students throw their CVs everywhere in order to find a graduate job, but the CV has to have some sort of experience if they hope to pass the pre-screening.
Winnie, a Citi candidate, recently asked Insiders how they showed their ability in interest in the firm without having done an internship:
Citi Insiders shared their own personal experiences and, even though one of them had done an internship prior to joining Citi, they each explained what was important during the application: motivation, interest and ability to work within the firm. You can showcase your strengths in a different using other experiences.
Why are internships important?
An anonymous user posed a similar question earlier in the year:
“How did you find the application process? I haven’t done an internship, is it 100% necessary?”
Insiders Marina, Melodie and Yana all expressed that they had completed internships prior to working at Citi (either at Citi or elsewhere).
Internships should not to be used just to fill an extra line on a CV, but rather to gain actual experience. Internships are a form of trial that allow you to test the waters before diving into the deep contractual end.
The idea works both ways: an organisation prefers to hire individuals that have completed internships (within their organisation or at least in a similar sector) as they know the line of work is something that suits the individual. In a broad sense, the more internships you complete (and therefore the larger amount of exposure to working environments you have), the better you can understand the direction in which you want to steer your professional career.
Citi value the importance of an internship, but not having completed one prior to applying doesn’t completely ruin your chances — you have to accept, however, that it is an uphill battle. Fortunately, Citi lets students and post-graduates apply for their internships, as can be seen here with Sivaparathy:
Completion of an internship should not be regarded as a box that needs to be ticked before applying for a job. You should aim to complete an internship to find out whether your ideas of where you want to work match up with reality.
