TIPS on landing ESTEEMED internships pt1 😉🤫🫣

as it’s internship applications #Adulting101 szn soon, I figured this would be helpful as personally I’ve been through 2 internships, both were with luxury brands that only took in a few interns & had friends asked me how I did it! 🫣 here’s me ungatekeeping #MyGoTo tips & hopefully it’ll help y’all! 🤭 (these are just what helped me/what I learnt from career advisors/HR of companies that take in fewer interns, every internship hiring process differs slightly~)

DISCLAIMER: in NO way am I saying some internships are better than others - my personal opinion & preference is that I always go for internships that are “more rare” & don’t mass take in interns which I have a few reasons why & will share more! 🥳 everyone has diff preferences so do take this w a pinch of salt 🤍 it’s honestly too long so here’s part 1 focusing on the first step - applying & resumes! have also attached my resume which you can refer to at the very last slide! FIND OUT HOW TO GET NOTICED! 😉

WHY I AVOID INTERNSHIPS W MASS HIRING 😅 ———

✧ while every internship can be a good one for both our learnings & portfolios, personally I am selective about what & where I invest my time in! i personally like to be the big fish in a small pond rather than a small fish in the big pond! 😅 but that boils down to my LEARNING STYLE & where I see myself grow the most!

✧ i prefer an internship that only has a few interns & is more unique/rare to attain than a company where many interns work at as: 1. I believe that I will get more attention from my bosses&colleagues thus learning more 2. you get DIRECT advice&feedback instead of just doing mundane tasks 3. I wanted my internships to be enriching & see myself struggle & grow in them, not just a 6 months slaving & bye done & dusted task!

✧ when a team has only a few interns, they tend to take care of you more which is SO IMPORTANT! 😤 one thing my boss who is like my life mentor from RRMC told me is that: you are a valuable asset to the company & not just “an intern” - your ideas, efforts and time all matter because you have the ability to impact the brand as well!!!

✧ this is why i didn’t want to “settle” for a company that see me as disposable or “cheap labour” as some might bluntly call it! 😭 know your worth & find internships that VALUE your worth!!! 🤍

HOW I FIND MY INTERNSHIPS? 😝 ———

✧ while there are all those mainstream application platforms like LinkedIn, fastjobs or even through your school portal etc, which can be found easily through google, one area that many don’t know is: WORD OF MOUTH!!! 🤭

✧ how I found out about RRMC was through someone I know - which recommended me for the interview & that was first step to getting hold of the JD & selection process whereby I submitted my resume! 😌 the rest of it depends on interview which I’ll address in pt2!!

✧ for my 2nd internship under luxury brand sulwhasoo, I actually chanced upon it & approached one of the ex-interns on LINKEDIN through messaging which she kindly told me more about her experience & mentioned my name to the supervisor as well!

✧ other than that, I emailed my resume DIRECTLY to the team as well (yes a bold, but necessary move, if you want the internship BADLY!) you can see the last slide as to how you can email them (of course this depends on several factors as well, like if the brand is actually hiring or not & your resume/email!)

✧ so what’s in common for both internships? take THE FIRST STEP! for internships that are COMPETITIVE & only hire a few interns at one time, the selection process is MORE VIGOROUS & they’d most likely choose those that STAND OUT MORE & show that they really are passionate about the internship/brand. as compared to someone who mass applied a bunch of internships without actually knowing the brand/company - it’s clear who has an advantage! 🤫

✧ but of course, you could increase your chance by mass applying to a bunch of companies, there are many diff factors with regards to this & it rly depends on what kind of internships you’re seeking as well.

HOW TO MAKE RESUME STAND OUT? 😳 ———

✧ think of resume & CVs as selling a product which in this case is yourself. while it might be awkward to praise yourself & flex a bunch of things you have done (trust me I disliked that too..) but you actually have no choice but to PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE to be different from the other 5-100 other applications! you need to recognize your own value for companies to do so as well!!!

✧ know how to craft your experiences CLEVERLY, but of course please DON’T LIE 😭 include NUMBERS, key words as to the role you’re applying, experiences at previous leaderships & jobs that you can SHARE A STORY ON!

✧ you need to include experiences that showcase your LEADERSHIP SKILLS/COMMUNICATION ABILITIES/ORGANIZATION & PLANNING SKILLS/PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS! each point should bring across a skill RELEVANT to the internship JD! you’re not just stating a point for the sake of it 😭

✧ for example, don’t just say that you led your CCA as a president - how many members? what events did you do? how many events? plan/ideate/execute/delegate/spearheaded/trained?? what did you EXACTLY do? this mainly depends on the role you’re applying for - collaboration skills will be important for internships that need you to work in a group ; organization skills for HR roles etc. put the most important bullet point FIRST for each section!

✧ use CAR/PAR method: challenge > action > results & problem > action > results! don’t just say I did xxx for my internship! talk about the challenges & problems you had & HOW YOU MANAGED to solve them which resulted in a GOOD ENDING/not so good one that in hindsight you now know what to do differently~ companies love hearing about your stories but of course for resume keep it SHORT so you can elaborate on it during your interview 😉

✧ include any other relevant info about yourself that might not be directly related but can help! do you speak a third language? well-versed with editing/video/certain aspects like beauty fashion etc? your CCAs that might help you grow your soft skills that others don’t have?

✧ but in general, keeping it neat & tidy! imagine HR which has to screen many resumes, it should be clean & attention-catching that makes the employer WANT TO GET TO KNOW YOU MORE! keep thinking about this: what will make the company want ME, & not the person’s resume that he/she saw before/after me? 😉

this was a rly LENGTHY & detailed post but I hope it helps some of you!!! if you have any questions do let me know & I’ll be back with my part 2 with regards to interviews 🤍 all the best with upcoming applications! regardless of all these tips, the first step is to TRULY believe in yourself & what you can bring to the table that’s uniquely you 🫶🏻

unfortunately I need to keep some info private for both the company & my privacy/confidentiality - do message me or comment down any questions I’ll try my best to answer 🫶🏻

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