Completing your internship is a significant accomplishment. Many of our participating interns view this as their initial exposure to working in a professional environment, which allows them to gain the necessary experience to excel in their chosen career path.
Interns often express to us that witnessing the concrete impact of their hard work on their host company’s success is one of the most fulfilling aspects of their internship.
In this blog post, we will provide you with several tips on effectively promoting your internship experience and the skills you have acquired, enabling you to distinguish yourself among potential future employers. We will guide you on how to optimize your LinkedIn Profile to increase your visibility in search results, what information to include in your professional portfolio/resume, and how to articulate your internship experience during interviews.
Keep your LinkedIn profile up to date.
Firstly, it is essential to create a LinkedIn account if you do not already have one. By not having an account, you are missing out on various stimulating discussions within your industry, breaking news updates, and job opportunities. It is worth noting that 90% of recruiters actively use LinkedIn.
Therefore, having your profile noticed can potentially open doors to career advancements, as well as the opportunity to connect with well-established professionals in your field. Furthermore, it may even lead to growing a dedicated following. Recognizing the significance, LinkedIn provides users with a weekly summary of how frequently their profile appears in searches and the specific search terms used. To generate more attention for your account, a simple and effortless method is to include your virtual internship experience on your profile.
Mention About Your Work Experience
Initiate by incorporating your internship experience and the duration of said internship into the ‘work experience’ segment of your profile. This endeavor shall prove advantageous in fortifying the strength of your profile and establishing your credentials within the industry.
Embedded within each employer listing on your profile resides the choice to expound upon the respective company. This is an opportunity that should unquestionably be seized. LinkedIn’s algorithm for profile exploration operates on the basis of keywords. By appending more industry-specific keywords to your profile, you shall garner a greater presence in search results among the appropriate individuals.
An effortless approach to capitalize on this opportunity is to commence by presenting an introduction to the organization where you pursued your internship: elucidate the industry they operate in and the product or service they offer. This instantaneously establishes a connection to targeted explorations within the industry. Subsequently, delve into the realm of your position and accomplishments within the organization, while simultaneously employing industry-specific terminology and highlighting any specialized software or tools utilized. This holds significant relevance if your intention is to utilize your profile for job hunting, as recruiters frequently conduct searches for candidates based on their proficiencies (for instance, “Digital marketing professional” is a commonly sought after search term).
Gathering Recommendations After Your Internship
LinkedIn’s recommendation feature enables individuals who have a prior connection with you to compose testimonials regarding their professional experiences with you. The presence of recommendations on your profile serves as a remarkable means of enhancing your profile’s credibility. Not only do these recommendations endorse your skills, but they also serve as tangible evidence of your ability to cultivate positive working relationships.
Upon the culmination of your virtual internships, you find yourself in an advantageous position to swiftly obtain two recommendations. These recommendations can be obtained from both your supervisor at the host company and your dedicated internship coach. It is highly recommended that you promptly reach out to both individuals in order to fortify your profile and garner acknowledgement for the diligent efforts you have invested.
Creating Your Professional Portfolio and Resume/CV
Professional portfolios and CV/resume have served as the foundation of the recruitment process since long time. Hiring managers are overwhelmed with a plethora of resumes for every corporate job advertisement, necessitating the need to differentiate oneself on paper in order to secure an interview. Fortunately, undertaking a virtual internship presents an excellent opportunity to achieve this objective.
Emphasize About Your Internship Being Virtual
Now the phenomenon of virtual internships, also known as online internships or remote internships, has become the prevailing practice. Undertaking an online internship is an accomplishment in and of itself, as it demonstrates determination, adaptability, and problem-solving abilities, all of which are qualities that are sure to capture the attention of hiring managers.
Moreover, major corporations such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have made a commitment to implement online internship programs starting from 2020. It is undeniable that the global pandemic has expedited the need for online programs. However, the evolving nature of work has made their emergence an inevitable outcome for quite some time.
Incorporating a virtual internship, online internship, or remote internship into your resume or curriculum vitae enables you to stay ahead of the curve. It serves as evidence that you possess the capability to thrive in the contemporary workplace and can be entrusted to work independently. These are qualities that will continue to gain significance as jobs transition to remote settings.
What You Should Include in Your Professional Portfolio (For All Interns)
A portfolio serves as corroborative evidence to bolster one’s resume; it is intended to furnish a visual depiction of one’s past work and achievements. A meticulously prepared portfolio can be the distinguishing factor that sets one apart from the competition during interviews.
It may be surmised that interns in certain professional spheres will encounter less difficulty in constructing a professional portfolio, and this assertion may indeed hold true. Interns engaged in graphic design, fashion, and media undeniably possess an early advantage compared to those working in less visually-oriented career fields. Nevertheless, every virtual intern is poised in an advantageous position to fabricate a visually appealing portfolio.
The primary objective of your portfolio is to exhibit your talent and dedication to work, correct? This can be easily accomplished by utilizing the resources available to you. Utilize your portfolio as a platform to present all the work you have undertaken behind the scenes during your internship. Incorporate visuals of brainstorming sessions, product prototypes, and any blueprints or wireframes you may possess; however, it is advisable to seek approval from your host company prior to sharing any confidential information.
Furthermore, as previously mentioned, it is advantageous to emphasize the fact that you have engaged in a virtual internship. Virtual internships offer a wealth of valuable content for your portfolio. Include visuals of your designated workspace and any screen captures of team meetings conducted through platforms such as Zoom or Skype. A portfolio centered around the work process within a virtual internship is distinctive and guaranteed to leave a lasting impression on prospective interviewers.
How to Talk About Your Virtual Internship During Interviews
Interviews present an auspicious occasion to promote one’s own capabilities. Upon the culmination of one’s internship, the intern shall have acquired intimate insights into their selected professional domain, thereby furnishing them with a robust framework to elucidate how their proficiencies and prior encounters will prove advantageous to the company conducting the interview. Furthermore, the intern shall enjoy the supplementary benefit of having fulfilled a distinctive (virtual) internship, which shall serve as an intriguing conversational topic to be deftly exploited.
Selling The Skills You’ve learned
The program offered by Virtual Internships provides individuals with the opportunity to gain practical experience in a chosen career field. This presents a significant advantage for potential employers who seek evidence of one’s competence in their respective industry.
One way to exhibit one’s worth is by discussing experience with tools and software that are specific to the industry and may necessitate specialized training. It is important to communicate one’s proficiency in utilizing these tools on a daily basis. This can be viewed as a substantial asset by employers.
Openly discussing the knowledge acquired from one’s supervisor is encouraged. Explaining how they provided guidance and shared confidential information about the industry can be highly appealing to employers. Demonstrating a willingness to learn and take advantage of available resources is highly valued.
Ensure to discuss the ventures in which you have participated: were they fruitful, and what knowledge did you acquire as a result? Employers have a strong affinity for learning about the consequences of projects, the accomplishments you attained, and your ability to reproduce such outcomes within their organization (additional accolades if you can furnish concrete statistics and data).
Selling The Personal Skills You’ve Learned
As previously stated within this discourse, the completion of an internship amidst the presence of the pandemic represents a remarkable accomplishment. Demonstrating the proactive inclination to identify an alternative pathway in lieu of conventional internships during this period, thereby ensuring the continuity of one’s professional growth, is a noteworthy aspect that will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression upon prospective employers. Furthermore, it is worth noting that Virtual Internships possesses a host company network that encompasses numerous compelling international entities. The inclusion of an international corporation within one’s curriculum vitae during this juncture will serve to accentuate an individual’s ambitious pursuit of exploring opportunities beyond immediate circumstances. An additional advantage lies in the opportunity to expound upon one’s experience of operating within a foreign corporate milieu.
Moreover, the acquisition of everyday proficiencies, which have been acquired by virtue of undertaking an online internship, shall furnish an individual with an array of skills that are fervently sought after by employers. Such proficiencies encompass the capacity to function autonomously, the adeptness in managing time effectively, the cultivation of self-motivation, and the ability to engage in efficacious communication.
Conclusion
Engaging in a Virtual internship, an Online internship, or a remote internship and incorporating it into your CV/resume and professional profiles serves as a remarkable means of setting yourself apart from other contenders. The acquired experience, skills, and knowledge can be effortlessly transformed into noteworthy materials and anecdotes, meticulously crafted to leave a lasting impression on prospective employers. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you take immediate action by updating your LinkedIn profile and establishing your professional Portfolio without delay