International internships in 2018 that will make you more employable
[This is the third in series of blogs to help students know about internships that they might not get to know from their placement cells. Over the last month, I have compiled a list of competitions & conferences that students should participate in :
Competition: Top competitions every student needs to know about in 2018
Conferences: The must-attend student conferences in 2018]
The focus of this blog is international internships with corporates which will give an edge to your resume. While applying for jobs, internships are generally one of the top 2 things that employers look for (besides your spike in academics, sports, leadership etc). They are the gateways to your eventual employability and hence are worthy investment in your future. Internships give you real world experience — as you have to discipline yourself, deliver timely results, fend for yourself at work. Imagining how it will be working in a particular organisation/particular role is very different from actually working in it. The parallel I generally give is : it is like ‘test-driving’ a car, giving you insights of the career (or the car in this example) without much dangers. You can always imagine how it will feel to ride that car from the outside, but you will know for sure how it feels to drive only when you take control of the steering wheel.
Though formal/informal groups in colleges do a good job in identifying and connecting students with internships, students tend to miss out on worthy internships with global giants which can open altogether very different gates for them. Even though we present a limited list of high-powered internships here, this blog will be truly successful if it encourages students to search for more such internships in their field of interest and apply for them:
William Blair M&A Internship
Sectors: Finance (Investment banking & M&A)
Deadline to apply: April 30th, 2018
Internship dates: May-August, 2018 (Flexible as per student’s availability)
Location: London, UK
Open for: Any student (students with finance + analytics background preferred)
What participants love about it: Working in the field of Investment Banking with one of the biggest names in the field! This is a highly rigorous yet very high paying internship in which students can expect to learn a lot in a short span of time. WB has a highly selective recruitment process, but the process in itself can be a huge learning experience for the students. Interns get to work with WB professionals on live deals where they identify potential M&A transactions
Rocket Internet Internship Program
Sectors: Multiple fields
Deadline to apply: Round the year
Internship dates: Round the year
Location: Multiple locations
Open for: Any student
What participants love about it: Rocket Internet is one of the foremost Venture Builder (builds online startups and owns shareholdings in various models of internet retail businesses) which has built companies like FoodPanda and Lazada. They have round the year internship positions open for their partner startup companies, which are spread across the globe. Students are encouraged to explore their website for openings in such positions.
CRCC Asia
Sectors: Multiple fields
Deadline to apply: Round the year
Internship dates: Round the year
Location: Multiple locations, mostly in China
Open for: Any student
What participants love about it: CRCC Asia has a unique business model — it connects students with organisations for internships in China, Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh and Manchester for a fee. For a student, paying to get an internship (which is used by CRCC for accommodation, visa, trainings etc) might look an overkill initially, but the opportunities that internship in China open more than compensates for it. More and more companies, esp. Consulting firms value students who have Chinese experience on their resume. Students can choose to work in sectors and city of their choice, and CRCC maps students with relevant companies in those sectors.
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Sectors: Multiple fields
Deadline to apply: Round the year
Location: Palo Alto, San Francisco
Open for: Any student
What participants love about it: CZI, started by Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, is a novel social impact organisation, aimed at advancing human potential through world class engineering and innovation. This is a 12 week program where students will get to work out of their Palo Alto office. CZI extensively helps interns with visa, accommodation and other requirements.
CZI is a great opportunity to work with the leading technology organisation in a social impact space!
WHO South-East Asia internship
Sectors: Multiple fields (aligned to social impact)
Deadline to apply: Round the year
Internship dates: 6–12 weeks program (Dates flexible as per student’s availability)
Location: South East Asia
Open for: Any student
What participants love about it: Chance to work with premier social impact organisation recognized across the globe! Though students have to make all arrangements on their own, working with WHO will give an unparalleled experience — working on ground with grant receivers, with policy makers, with corporates etc. Letter of recommendation from managers at WHO can make lot of difference in your MBA applications too!
Lightspeed Venture Partners Summer Fellowship
Sectors: Entrepreneurship
Deadline to apply: March 9th, 2018 (At the time of publishing, the deadline for the internship was still open)
Internship dates: June 18th — August 28th, 2018
Location: Menlo Park, San Francisco
Open for: Student entrepreneurs
Incentives: (a) $5,000 per team + $15,000 per individual (b) Mentorship from Lightspeed partners © Office at Sand Hill Road (d) Free cloud services
What participants love about it: Imagine working in Sand Hill Road in San Francisco, where headquarters of major VCs and tech companies are located and getting mentorship from Partners who have backed companies like Snapchat in the past! This isn’t a typical internship, but is designed on the lines of one. Teams of sizes 2–4 can apply, and selected teams get resources and learning in the space of entrepreneurship. The aim of this program is to help students explore entrepreneurship as a career, just like they explore finance, consults etc.
LaunchTN Internship Program
Sectors: Multiple fields
Deadline to apply: Feb 28th, 2018 (Deadline for 2018 have ended, but students can write to them requesting access)
Internship dates: May-August, 2018 (Flexible as per student’s availability)
Location: Tennessee, USA
Open for: Any student
Incentives: (a) $6,500 for 13–14 weeks (b) Mentorship from industry veterans
What participants love about it: LaunchTN is an innovative program which pairs students with ten select high-growth startups located across the state of Tennessee. These startups either have a product in the market or are preparing to launch with plans for accelerated growth over the next 6–12 months. These internships provide opportunities to be on the front lines of early stage high-growth businesses, fostering fast paced learning in interns.
There is no dearth of good internships needing talented individuals like you! Make sure you do two things : (1) Research on relevant internships in your areas of interest (2) Write to the selected company/organisation along with sending your resume, showing your genuine interest and mentioning how you can contribute to them. You will be surprised how willing companies/organisations are to take you on-board. All the best!
Articles on summer programs, scholarships and more…. coming soon. Stay tuned! We will love to hear your views on the blogs, please leave a comment below.