Introduction👋
I’d like to share the different stages involved in finding an internship/placement as a Computer Science student. I’m going to keep t...
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Good tips. I'd add one more.
If the "position" promises a job at another company after you complete their training, and you don't have to pay for anything unless you don't complete the program and/or stick with the job they place you in, RUN. While technically legal, these schemes are highly predatory. From what I know, the training is sub-par, and you will be paid far below market value once you get a job; a huge portion of your salary is actually going to the "placement company". And, if you don't complete your contract, you're out thousands of dollars.
And yes, I could give you the names of two such companies right now that use this predatory scheme. These are effectively white-collar scams.
NO legitimate internship, training program, bootcamp, college, or entry level position will demand repayment because you quit. A major purpose of any internship or entry level position is for you to learn what the job is like, and if you're a good fit. And any legitimate training program or educational institution is either completely free in all cases, or requires payment of tuition whether you finish or not.
Thanks for the addition of this tip Jason! These types of placements don't seem to be common here in the UK, but clearly is something to watch out for.
Assalamualaikum
You said that we should start applying for internships with the start of second year. What can we possibly learn and become so good at it in just one year? Please tell me that what you did in your first year. Did you do something other than your degree courses?
Walaikumassalam Hassaan,
Aside from my university studies, I tried to pursue other interests. I did a little bit of JavaScript work, and brushed up on HTML + CSS.
But honestly I wasn't doing a load of extra stuff. University and my job alone kept me very busy.
Remember that during the second year you'll be gaining new skills which you can also display to the employers. You don't need to be a master at everything - just work with what you know😊.
Thank you for your response! The last thing I want to know is that if I apply for an internship, let's say front-end web development or .Net desktop application development (that's what I can do a little bit), what will the employer be expecting from me as a second year university student?
Thanks in advance!
No problem!
The thing I've observed about employers taking on students is looking for genuine passion for the job, and the ability to display that you are a good fit for the job.
To address genuine passion, you could spend a little time outside of university reading a book or working through a course.
To show you are a good fit for the job, read the job specification carefully and pick out the skills they are looking for. A common one could be as simple as "working in a team" - you can bring any experience (even non-development) to back this up! For example, I talked about my part-time job in retail in detail, where I could demonstrate soft skills such as team working.
Good luck with the applications Hassaan!
Jazakallah Brother.
My only note on the resume is try to keep it one page, if possible and make a longer, more detailed LinkedIn or personal webpage. I have talked to many recuirters and interviewers who say they don’t want to look at more than one page and who recommend keeping it short. I know tailor my resume to one page and keep it specific to what I am applying for and then have a very detailed, lengthy LinkedIn that someone can explore more if they so desire. Just my experience. 😄
Hey, thanks for reading and leaving your feedback☺️.
I was tempted to write just 1 page however, mine spanned 1 page and a half, meaning some stuff did end up on the 'back' of my CV. This didn't stop me from receiving offers and such.
I think for students who may lack a wealth of experience, it's not the worst thing in the world to detail what they do have experience in, such as through their academia.
However you are totally correct in generally keeping it to 1 page length! I know recruiters receive a ton of these things regularly. I just didn't want to explicitly state it like that when mine wasn't exactly 1 page😂.
Again, thank you for your feedback on your experience Rose! 😊🙏🏽
You’re welcome! I have had some recruiters and other be mean about resumes being over 1 page. I can understand why they don’t want to have to read over 1 or 2 pages but sometimes it is hard to put everything down to 1 page in a neat fashion with enough detail. I started using Latex to make my resumes so I have more fine tuned control over specific elements. 😄
"Company research is so important. You’re going to be asked to show your interest in the role you applied for and the company itself, so you’ll need to do a bit of research on them."
As a company investing a considerable amount of time in internship recruitment, yup, this definitely makes the difference. Not because we like to hear stuff about ourselves, but because it can spark conversations about goals, career, deeper motivations.
Something else you can take into consideration is learning GitHub and open-sourcing ANY project you have this way. GitHub is where you can showcase the kind of code you write and if it has potential. That's a huge differentiator at an interview (not just an internship one).
Really great insight into what companies are looking for. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for mentioning RateMyPlacement.co.uk as a resource for searching for internships and year-long placements for computer science students :) Any chance you could link the mention of us to the website so that other students can find work experience? Thanks!
Just updated it now to link directly to the site. 😊