University of Bristol Internship Scheme: finding the right track for your career

The Internship Scheme is now open again, enabling students and recent graduates to gain high-quality, paid work experience, and organisations find the right talent for their businesses.

Last year’s pilot was a wonderful success, and we’re looking to build upon it this year by increasing the number of opportunities available.

The scheme is open to all current students and recent graduates, and aims to present students with internship opportunities in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) nationwide, as well as charities, non-government organisations, social enterprises and start-ups.

Benefits

The benefits of undertaking an internship can be manifold. They include:

  • Looking great on your CV, potentially giving you a competitive edge in the job market.
  • Helping you with your career choices, possibly leading to a permanent position with a company.
  • Expediting the growth of your professional network as you meet people working in your chosen industry.
  • Giving you the opportunity to demonstrate and develop transferable skills, such as teamwork and commercial awareness.
  • Contributing to the Bristol PLuS Award.

Get involved

Internship opportunities will be posted online on our JobShop over the course of the year. For application tips and advice, see our ‘Internship Advice’ blog post and the Careers Service website.

Students are also encouraged to contact organisations speculatively if they have an idea about a particular sector or business they are interested in pursuing and then to get in touch with our Internship Manager.

Student view

The response from students who undertook an internship as part of the scheme last year has been very positive. Rachel Hosie, an undergraduate in the School of Modern Languages, enjoyed a successful internship at a local SME that matched her interests in social media and also presented an opportunity for extended employment:

Back in March of this year, I was looking for a paid internship for the summer to earn some money, but also to gain some valuable work experience. I searched on the Careers Service website and stumbled across an opportunity for an internship with a new social media start-up company based in Bristol. It sounded right up my street, so immediately sent in my CV and covering letter. Soon after, I had a fascinating interview with the Managing Director, Creative Director and Technical Director, which resulted in me getting the Social Media Intern position!

They explained to me just how much they appreciated the support of the scheme as it allowed them to employ someone else (me!) which they wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise as they were a new company. I’d originally thought the internship would be full time for four weeks in the summer, but instead, I started my work as a part-time job, to be spread out over four months with the money from the University. This worked brilliantly for both me and the company, and since the four months has come to an end, the organisation has carried on my employment with them as a part-time job now that they have the money to pay me themselves. I’ve learnt a lot as a result of my work experience, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the internship scheme to other students.’

Want to find out more? Take a look at our UoB Internship Scheme webpage.

Dr Hannah Mossman, Internship Manager

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