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Internships

From the archives
Sep 6, 2011
1
Question

Internships- I have a background in the NGO sector and have a masters. It seems Brussels is set up for all entry level workers to be interns (some low paid, others unpaid). My question is: how many internships should one reasonably have to do before being able to get a contract? I was warned by a recruiter that too many internships on the CV are a warning sign - why cant she get a proper job? - but with too few, there is a question of experience. So what do you think? I have done one internship but am disastisfied - after the first month, I hardly learned anything new (except by reading news or documents, which I can do on my own) so I am unconvinced that multiple internships will really teach you much. Should I still aim for another one or two? Or should I just chuck it all and apply straight for paid jobs?

From the archives

Having done two internships is NOT going to hurt your chances of getting a job. You just got stuck with a bad internship. That doesn't mean they are all that way. Many lead to jobs within the firm after the interning period is over. But you can usually tell if that will be the case within the first few weeks. Just keep applying for all the jobs you can, internships and "real" ones, as long as they are related in some way to your experience or interests. Follow that rule and you're bound to find something good--eventually. Be persistent, tweak and re-tweak your CV, have faith in yourself, and work your tail off--those are the things that will get you hired.

Sep 6, 2011 11:36