A Senior Student’s Internship Guide

Have you ever thought about where you wanna go for an internship? Have you consulted with the Office of Career Services (OCS) already? Do you have a dream company you want to intern at during this pandemic?

As a graduating student, I have experienced a local internship and currently a work from home internship. I worked in EDSA Shangri-La as a Lobby Ambassador. My tasks were opening and closing the doors for guests, making sure the guest’s inquiries were taken care of and lastly, providing them directions on where they wanted to go. You may be wondering how I ended up with this position and how I got accepted in this company.

Here are the steps on how I landed my first internship and currently my second internship:

1. Book a consultation with the Office of Career Services
   Before the pandemic started, I didn’t need to consult with them because I knew I wanted to apply for EDSA Shangri-La. If you are planning to have your internship during this pandemic, my first step would be to book a consultation with them so that they can help you decide what company and position is perfect for you.

2. Attend the Internship Overview Seminar
   I can honestly say that this was the best part of starting my internship journey. I still remember attending the internship overview seminar in the amphitheater that was located in the CA building with several students that were from a higher batch. They talked about the application process, the companies, and lastly, the deadlines. On the other hand, since we are in a pandemic, I attended my second internship overview seminar via zoom which was still super helpful for me.

3. Film your Spark Hire Videos
   This has been challenging for me simply because it took me three tries during my first time filming for my first internship and three times for my second one. I must say that it really takes patience and consistency to film a great Spark Hire video that will be approved by the career services personnel. These videos will also help the companies you’re applying for get to know you better.

   What is Spark Hire?

   Spark Hire is a website where you film your interview videos that companies watch to see if you’re a good fit for the internship position.

4. Wait for Spark Hire video / CV feedback
   I remember waiting a few days for my Spark Hire video feedback and being a bit nervous during my first internship simply because I was new to the whole process. For the CV, I only did minimal changes since I update my CV every year. After getting feedback from OCS, and resubmitting your spark hire videos, the next step would be to fill out a google form of what type of internship you want.

5. Apply for a local/international internship
   Since we are still in a pandemic and currently on an enhanced community quarantine. You’ll be choosing a work-from-home internship, but you can choose to apply for an international one. You’ll be given an excel sheet after the Internship Overview Seminar so you can pick your companies there and what positions suit you the most.

   Note: if you get accepted by a company, that’s the company you’ll work for.

   After my interview with the company, I waited for a week until I got my acceptance letter from OCS. It was truly the best news I’ve ever received.

6. Attend the readiness seminar
   Once you get accepted by the company after your interview, it is a MUST to attend the readiness seminar because you’ll be guided on what to do and/what not to do during your work-from-home internship.

   You also have to choose your internship advisor and enroll your internship based on when you will finish.

Enjoy your internship

7. After going through the six steps, you can finally start your internship but take note of submitting your memorandum of agreement since this is the most important document OCS needs. Lastly,here are four tips on what you can do to make your work-from-home internship enjoyable:

1. Interact with your co-interns and supervisor during zoom/google meetings

2. Volunteer to do other tasks that can help your growth

3. Document your tasks and your routine

4. Make suggestions for their future projects

I wanted to share with you all these steps from a student’s perspective to know how to be responsible in applying for an internship that we want to have. This also prepares us for what to expect when we graduate. As a graduating student, one advice I can give to all of you would be to always believe in yourself and to know what you want to do for the rest of your career. Lastly, this also teaches us to always take note of deadlines because those are the make or break points of your careers.