Internships

About

Internships provide an opportunity to gain graduate level work experience, typically during the summer vacation or during term-time.

Many large companies target their internships at undergraduate students in their second, or penultimate, year of study. About a third of their graduate positions are filled by students who have completed an internship or placement year with them. Some internships are also open to graduates.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) also offer internships, although these are not always advertised.

The Careers Service organises a range of internships, both on campus and with SMEs in the North East. These are available during term-time and in the summer.

Benefits of doing an internship

Internships can help you to:

gain hands-on experience and develop industry knowledge, providing useful evidence for your skills and motivation when you apply for graduate jobs
decide where your future career interests lie
gain an insight into UK business culture
make contacts within the sector; some students secure graduate jobs with their internship provider
gain positive feedback and references, useful for future applications

Many internships are paid or provide a bursary; the Careers Service doesn’t advertise unpaid internships. You can find advice on our website about funding for unpaid work experience.

When to apply

Applications for large companies start to open in September, the year before the internship will take place. They start to close between November and February. This is usually to allow for quite a lengthy application process.

Internships organised by the Careers Service will be advertised on Vacancies Online throughout the academic year, with term-time internships advertised from October and summer internships from March.

Some companies recruit all year round, particularly SMEs, but it is best to start looking as early as possible.

See Finding internships to search for opportunities.

CVs, applications and LinkedIn profiles provides useful advice on how to write an effective CV, covering letter and application form.

Further information

Events to look out for

Recruitment fairs are not just for graduate jobs. Most employers at our events also offer internships, so go along and find out more about their opportunities.

At our employer presentations, you can hear about their internship schemes, build your network and ask questions. They usually take place at lunchtime or after 17.00.

We also list external events that are held off campus. These can include opportunities to find out about work experience.

Guides and advice

To find out more about the internships and placements undertaken by Newcastle University students, including case studies and top tips, visit our Be Workplace Ready blog.

The following resources also include advice, case studies and employer profiles:

Prospects
TARGETjobs: Internships – printed copies are available to take away in the Careers Service.
Rate My Placement: The Top Undergraduate Employers

Finding Internships

The two most common ways of finding internships are applying for advertised opportunities, and seeking out hidden ones by networking and applying speculatively.

The Careers Service advertises internships on Vacancies Online. You can search for internships during vacations or term-time and log-in to sign up for personalised email alerts.

You can also use the following external websites to help you find an internship:

Search for advertised internships

Prospects – select ‘work experience’ under ‘types of jobs’
TARGETjobs
RateMyPlacement – includes student reviews
Student Ladder – lists opportunities for first, second and final year students
Milkround
TheJobCrowd – select ‘work experience’ or ‘internship’ under ‘job type’
AllAboutCareers
Intern Avenue
The Big Choice.com: Placements
Graduate-Jobs.com: Internships
LinkedIn – in the ‘advanced search’ feature, select ‘internships’ under the experience level
E4S – internships and placements in the UK and abroad
STEP – UK wide project based work placements for students and graduates
EmployAbility – advice and work experience opportunities specifically for disabled students
Change100 – three month paid summer internships for students and graduates with disabilities or long-term health conditions
Placement UK – paid placements for European students in the UK
Instant Impact – internships with small and medium-sized enterprises
Enternships – internships and graduate positions in entrepreneurial environments
ScotGrad – Highlands and Islands Summer Internships. Open to undergraduates at any UK university

Search for sector specific opportunities

Finding work experience in a specific sector is often arranged through speculative applications, however, you can also find resources targeting specific industries, for example:

GradDiary.com – lists deadlines for internships and placements in banking, consultancy, accountancy, law, technology and finance
Inside Careers – internships in business, finance, patents and technology

To find internships in a particular sector, visit our Occupations pages.

The Careers Service has also produced work experience guides for specific schools, including:

Careers in Architecture: post-Part 1 placements
On shore and at sea – for marine technology students
Careers Translated – for modern languages students

Opportunities for first year students

Many large companies target their internships at second or penultimate year students, but they can also offer insight programmes for first year students. If they don’t specify which year groups can apply, you could contact them to clarify whether you are eligible, or just apply anyway.

The Careers Service runs a work shadowing scheme for first year students during the Easter vacation, which includes a day’s shadowing with a local graduate employer. Applications for these will open in Semester 2.

To find opportunities, in addition to using other resources on this page, you could try:

Student Ladder – work placements for first year students in a range of sectors
Rate My Placement – insight programmes for first year students, mostly in finance and law
Manchester University Careers Service – list spring internships for first year students
consider work shadowing as a way to gain a practical insight into your area of interest
making contacts – building up your network can allow you to explore industry contacts
external events – can include insight days and events aimed at first year students

Opportunities for graduates

Most internships are aimed at current students, but there are also opportunities for graduates interested in gaining experience. If a company doesn’t explicitly state that they only recruit students, you could contact them to check if you are eligible, or just apply anyway.

The Careers Service organises internships for graduates with local and regional employers. These are advertised on Vacancies Online throughout the year.

To find graduate opportunities, in addition to using other resources on this page, you could try:

Give A Grad A Go – internships for graduates, mostly based in London
Graduate Talent Pool – for graduates of the last three years
STEP – UK wide project based work placements for students and graduates
Grad Jobs: Work Placement – internships for graduates
Inspiring Interns – agency specialising in graduate jobs and internships
Change100 – three month paid summer internships for graduates with disabilities or long-term health conditions

Regional Jobs includes work experience schemes across the UK, mostly for graduates.

Making useful contacts in your industry can help you find the right people to speak to about hidden opportunities.

See speculative applications for information on applying to companies directly.

Speculative applications

Not all internships are advertised. In fact, many people create opportunities through networking and making contacts, or by developing their own business ideas.

If you have identified a company you would like to work for, you could try approaching them directly about possible opportunities. Send them a tailored CV and covering letter, expressing your enthusiasm for the sector and showing that you have researched the company.

Where possible, identify a contact name to address your covering letter to. Call or email to find out who is responsible for recruitment within the organisation or a key contact in the department you want to work in.

It’s useful to follow up a speculative application with a phone call a few days afterwards to show you are serious and motivated.

TARGETjobs have a useful guide about making a speculative application to find hidden internships.

Finding companies

North East Graduate Directory – database of local organisations who offer work experience or accept speculative applications
Researching employers – contains sources of company profiles and a list of business directories and databases
Occupations – find employer directories for specific sectors
LinkedIn – an online networking tool allowing users to connect with professionals across all industries
LinkedIn's Find Alumni tool can help you find organisations Newcastle graduates are working in

Other ways to find internships

Academic schools sometimes offer internships, for example through research scholarships. There are also opportunities through externally-funded vacation studentship schemes. Ask your school if they run similar schemes or have contacts you could approach.

The Business School offer global experience internships as part of their Global Experience Opportunity programme. They also advertise internships and placements on their Student Experience Blog.

Some student competitions, such as TARGETjobs’ Undergraduate of the Year, offer a paid internship as a prize.