The Internship Hunting Pain

My dearest engineers, welcome back to yet again, another blog of mine. This blog’s topic is a bit of a …scary one. Very scary one may I add. Perhaps the one thing in existence that any specifically second year engineering student fears the most in their time studying their Bachelor of Engineering (Honours). No it’s not human interaction, no it’s not touching grass, and it is in fact not talking to girls. It is all about…

INTERNSHIPS

Yup, you heard it folks. This blog is indeed all about the internship pain journey. In this blog, I will cover a bit on what to expect in second year when you will start worrying about your 800 hours, and how to prepare for the war that is finding internships!

ENGGEN 499: A curse or blessing in disguise

At this point of your degree, you have most likely heard of ENGGEN 499, which is the core component of your degree. To get more information on what the course about, let’s hear it from the university’s own website itself:

ENGGEN 499: Practical Work is a core component of your BE(Hons). You’re required to complete 800 hours of Practical Work and complete a formal written report. You’ll generally undertake your Practical Work throughout the summer breaks at the ends of Parts II and II.

University of Auckland, Course Outlines Website

(I hope I don’t get in trouble for not using APA 7th style of referencing)

As it was mentioned, this is a mandatory part of your degree. And before you moan and groan about UoA being too cruel to you for making 800 hours of work mandatory, think twice as this is more of an Engineering New Zealand thing than UoA. So no matter where in the country you are, you will have to complete 800 hours of engineering work.

Now the work can be general work, sub-professional work, or a combination of both. What does that mean you may ask? Well let’s ask our best friend UoA courseoutline.aucklanduni.ac.nz!

There are heaps of more useful information including a swag youtube video on ENGGEN 499, where you are given more information and advice on how to get prepared.

Sonia’s personal tips and tricks on securing an internship

…

*sigh*

“Dear diary… today I applied for three more companies. I emailed two of them with my cover letter and CV, and another one I had to go through a painful application process where I had to write 500 words about why I am a suitable candidate. I received three rejection letters today, all of them saying that I have been rejected since I am a second year. My dearest diary, I am going a bit insane… maybe I should have picked business as a major… I am unsure.”

This year has been… something. You have most likely heard of it (as it is the one thing this year’s part two cohort moans about), but the job market is not slaying as it was in the previous years. Many companies have either stopped taking interns or have reduced the numbers they take in drastically (most of them wanting third and fourth years). In these tough times, it is an absolute necessity to know how to stand out and grab the recruiters attention. So here are my top tips on how to secure that internship that you want.

1. MAKE THAT DAMNED LINKEDIN ACCOUNT

Stop rolling your eyes this instant. Yea you have heard every career advisor and engineering students from years above tell you this. But there is a reason! Even if you don’t have any shiny awards or scholarships to show off, Linkedin is still a very crucial aspect of your job hunting application. 

Often recruiters search you up first on Linkedin to see if you even EXIST to begin with! Yea it will be very swag to show off all your cool skills, experiences, awards and blah blah on Linkedin, but don’t be afraid to make one if you think yours won’t be as cool as others! (At least that’s how I felt when I made mine). Another crucial reason to get Linkedin, is the very fact that you can find job vacancies there that you may not see on your typical job seeking platforms. So close this blog (for now please, come back to it) and download Linkedin!

2. GO TO RECRUITER EVENTS SET BY UNI

You must have gotten emails from the faculty regarding different career nights with different engineering companies. Whether it be from the faculty, WEN, AUES or CDES, do not pull a part one Sonia and ignore them! These events are key to making those industry connections and just getting to know the companies you may want to intern in.

Yea going to these events is not going to guarantee you an internship, but personally speaking, the more events I went to the more confident and comfortable I got with applying for internships as I got more and more information about the companies I could potentially intern at. Especially in your second year, joining clubs like CESA will give you even more opportunities to go to cool events like CV workshops, speed interviews etc. and get the information you need regarding internships.

3. MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS

My first time talking to a recruiter was scary at first. I was unsure on what to ask and I was genuinely worried I was going to clown myself. However, the lady turned out to be so sweet and friendly that we just clicked instantly. When you are done asking your questions and breaking the ice, do make sure to ask for their contact details (whether it be Linkedin or email). Yea I know, it sounds so awkward. But it is not a concept unheard of! On some occasions, the recruiter may like you so much that they will be the one to hand you their contact details. And some occasions, they may not. The key is to be confident and ask interesting questions.

4. ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR CONNECTIONS

So now you managed to talk to a recruiter, they really liked you and you got their contact details. Now what? Well now you ACTUALLY contact them. This is one of the things I wish I had done sooner. The number of industry connections that are sitting in my Linkedin that I did not contact even once are… embarrassing. 

But the ones I contacted ended up becoming very helpful connections that not only helped me learn even more about all civil engineering was about, but I also got to go on a very cool site visit that I wouldn’t have had the chance to had I not contacted them. If you are unsure on what to say when you contact them, just ask them any questions about the company, industry or even the hiring process of the company lol. They love to help!

5. PREPARE YOUR CV/COVER LETTER EARLY

One of the things I lowkey regret was not preparing my CV early. I did end up perfecting my CV around June, which is typically when most internships open. However there were a large number of companies that started recruiting earlier in the year where I was not able to apply for as my CV and cover letter were not the best.

If you are unsure on what to write on your CV and cover letter, fear not! Yet again, CDES, CESA, WEN and many other university organisations are there to help you out with your CV and cover letter game. Either through one-on-one appointments or events they hold, you have heaps of opportunities to get your CV checked. I personally got my CV checked by three people first before sending them out. (My mentors and CDES)

6. GET YOUR SPREADSHEET GAME ON

Specifically with civil and structural engineering, there are an OVERWHELMING number of companies that are looking for interns. Even if you have the strongest memory out there, you are not going to be able to remember all of them. And it is generally a good idea to keep track of them for the future when you are looking for your second internship (yea you can’t get your 800 hours done in one summer holiday buddy). 

Cater your spreadsheet to your own liking, keep track of things that you will want to know when applying for the company. For example here is what mine looked like:

I found a large majority of these companies from the CESA internship spreadsheet, Linkedin, Indeed, Seek and companies I would see on construction sites (I was very desperate as you can tell). Then I sorted them alphabetically, with a description of what the offer (whether it be consultancy, contracting or if they were a client). I also made columns on when their internship roles open, whether I need to email them, the link to their careers website and extra notes. In order to keep track of my application process, I colour coded them on whether the applications were open, closed, I had to email them or I was just unsure. And of course I dedicated colours to whether I had applied, gotten rejected or moved on to the next stage of the application. (As you can see, many reds and a small number of bright greens).

7. DON’T LOSE HOPE, BUT DON’T BE TOO COCKY

Final advice sort of is something I also am going to keep in mind next year. As I mentioned, finding an internship this year was especially hard for second years, and on many occasions I was on the verge of giving up as the whole applying to three companies a day was veryyyyyyyyyy exhausting especially as I was studying. This was quite a contrast to my mentality at the beginning of the year where I was so cocky to the point I believed I was going to be able to bag an internship just after talking to a recruiter (yes I am very confident leave me alone).

Keep a balance of both. Stay confident in yourself and your abilities. You have made it to engineering and you are dedicated enough to keep applying for internships regardless of the rejections. But also keep in mind that great things come with hard work.

Final (and more hopeful) notes

Alrighty, we have reached the end of this blog. I really hope this blog has not discouraged and scared you, and has given you more information to prepare for your hunt in second year. Do keep in mind that even if you don’t end up securing an internship in second year, third year always exists. And you can always work as a graduate towards your hours. Yea your graduation will get delayed, but you will still graduate at the end of the day! As a a favourite Persian saying of mine goes:

There is hope in times of despair, at the end of the dark night is a bright day.

Nizami Ganjavi

Anyways, stay slaying as we approach the end of the year and I will see you all with my next blog 😉

– Sonia <3