We asked four successful grads how to get a summer internship – here’s what they said.
- Brendan - Paralegal at Freehills, Former congressional intern at the US Senate
- Maddy - Former Trainee at PwC, Westpac Graduate
- Lulu - Analyst at Quantium
- Simon - Analyst at Deloitte
BRENDAN: Just make sure that you research beforehand which areas that you would like to intern into, and get your applications in on time.
MADDY: It’s kind of doing all that work that you would do for a grad programme early, so it’s understanding the industry, understanding the key players, and then seeing which ones of them offer summer internships.
SIMON: If you’re in your second year, even from March, April, just start looking at the summer internship programmes. They start being advertised around February, March, and they don’t close until July. But by then they would have already hired everyone.
BRENDAN: So, for summer internships, each firm or each programme will have their own application process. Usually, it’s very similar - you’ll send in your resume and cover letter; they might sit you in for an interview; you might even have an assessment centre as well.
MADDY: Really, like, you’re probably not expected to have that much work experience for a summer internship, but you are expected to have good grades.
BRENDAN: One of the big things is, when you’re in a summer internship, in a role you would like to have ongoing, make sure you’re always learning. Because an internship is short, in the whole scheme of things, but there’s so much that you can learn. And if you can display a curiosity, if you can display a team ethic and a willingness to learn, I think a lot of your supervisors will notice that, and that will be something they consider when they potentially hire you in an ongoing position.
LULU: It’s really important to always go the extra mile, so don’t just think of it as, say, ‘this is my nine to five job for these eight weeks, I’m just gonna be there and do what they ask’. You want to always do that little bit extra; so, whether it’s asking your superior if there’s something else you can do, finishing your tasks as soon as possible-
MADDY: Doing - kind of, going above and beyond, showing that you take initiative; you’re willing to get your hands dirty-
LULU: Getting to know everyone who works there, so that you’re more memorable for them as well, because the internships do go quite quickly and you want to make sure that you make a really good impression for them so that they can keep you on for the end of the next year with a graduate role.
Update 1 June 2024: The disclaimer in the video is out of date. Student Super changed trustee from Tidswell to Diversa on 18 December 2020 and moved from Professional Super, a sub-fund of the Tidswell Master Superannuation Plan to Professional Super, a sub-fund of OneSuper on 1 June 2024. See the Significant Event Notice for more information.
