How to Intern at the Company of your dreams
Where do you want to intern?
Let’s say you want to intern at Microsoft.
Why do you want to intern there?
It could be because you like their work culture. Maybe the company recently developed an app that you really like.
What exactly would you like to do there?
Do you want to be a back-end developer or front-end developer? It could be that you’d like to work in the HR department.
Find people who are actively working there that are doing what you’d like to do
Once upon a time, I wanted to intern at Tesla (One of my friends encouraged me), so I went on LinkedIn and found people working in Tesla in the department that I wanted to work in.
I sent them a connect request and wrote a note stating why I wanted to connect with them. Talking about my love for Machine Learning and Tesla’s involvement in Machine Learning, I asked them to tell me about their experience in Tesla and its work culture. The template is down below:
Hi, I am a 400 level Mechanical Engineering Student at Covenant University who loves Mechanical engineering and Machine Learning. Tesla is one of the few companies that efficiently merges the two industries, and I would like to know more about your experience in Tesla, and its work culture.
I was lucky enough to get a few responses and one of the responders ended up speaking at an event in CU because I asked him to come.
Don’t be shy. You can do it, I believe in you.
Find out the skills that they are actively looking for:
- Search for people interning in your desired company in your chosen department. Look at their skills and certifications and create a small portfolio where you collate common skills, certifications and experiences that they all have. You can also do this for similar companies.
- Look through LinkedIn jobs and find your desired position and look at the skills that they require.
Talk to friends or friends of friends that are doing the work that you’d like to do
If you have friends who are back-end developers, speak to them about growing the created portfolio skills from before.
Practice and Improve
During the time leading to your application for internship; practice and improve your skills. Get new skills that you’ve highlighted in your portfolio and build on them. If possible, get the certifications based on your created portfolio (you don’t have to get the exact same certificate, but the certificate must be relevant to your job title).
Tailor your resume to the application
Every internship application has a different requirement. Tailor your resume to those requirements, adding the required skills, certifications and experiences.
Ask them for advice concerning applying
If you’re lucky and the people you sent a request to on LinkedIn, accept your invite; speak to them about back-end development. Ask questions bothering you and slowing work your way to asking if they have any advice on applying for an internship in their company.
Write a short essay
Some applications ask that you write a short essay. Be authentic, honest and pure. Ensure that your love for back-end development shows, explain why you love back-end development, where and how you plan to apply it. What you can bring to the company, how the company can help you, why you like that particular company and finally, what you hope to gain by the end of the internship.
Pray
Ensure that you pray before and after you send your application. Some opportunities might seem like gold, but they might not be for you. Pray that God will open the necessary doors to intern in a place that goes hand in hand with your destiny.
