Where to look for internships

Find out where to look for internships, and what they are.

What is an internship?

An internship is a period of structured work experience. It will let you develop knowledge and skills which will play a part in the decisions you go on to make about career choice. 

Typically you will: 

  • be offered training and may be assigned a mentor or buddy 
  • work on a specific area of work, or assigned to a project 
  • work for between 6-12 weeks  
  • be encouraged to reflect and record your experience. 

Most large graduate employers have an internship programme aimed at 2nd, 3rd and penultimate year students. This forms part of their graduate recruitment strategy – impressing on an internship can lead to the offer of a job after graduation.  But it’s not the only thing that counts – most employers will welcome applicants with a wide range of experience.  

Deadlines for internship applications with some of the major graduate employers can be as early as November, for internships taking place the following summer. If you miss these deadlines there will be other internship and work experience opportunities advertised throughout the year.  

Where should I look for an internship?

The first place to look is MyCareerHub.  

MyCareerHub 

The Careers Service, with partners, offers structured internship programmes exclusively for University of Edinburgh students. Find out more here: 

Employ.ed on Campus

Besides MyCareerHub, use the following websites to find internships. Some advertise opportunities across all sectors, and others are sector-specific. 

Prospects

Targetjobs

Student job

Inside Careers

Gradcracker

Bright Network

Businesses in certain sectors rarely advertise internships and if you’re keen to get experience in these sectors your best approach is to reach out to them yourself. Here’s our advice on how to do that: 

Create your own work experience

Some leading companies have created programmes of hands-on tasks and modules similar to those you’d undertake during an internship with them.  These aren’t paid, but they are a way to gain real understanding of different roles and sectors, and insight into specific companies. Programmes typically take between 6-8 hours to complete.

The Forage platform hosts a wide selection of these programmes. including Data Science, Software Engineering, Investment Banking, Design & Branding, Cyber Security, Engineering and Public Health. Some experiences are with US, Nordic, Middle East, UK and Australian companies, offering a real global focus.

Forage

The U21 Sustainable Micro-internships programme allows you to work with your fellow students from across the globe, sharing knowledge and expertise whilst immersing yourself in a commercial organisation. In your groups you will be tasked with providing a solution to a real-life SDG related challenge, which you will then pitch to senior stakeholders within the organisation at the end of the programme. 

Not only will you form quick partnerships with sustainability-minded students from a variety of academic disciplines around the world, but you’ll also challenge your abilities, whilst developing key skills enabling you to thrive in the modern workplace.

U21 Sustainable Micro-internships

When you're looking at opportunities of this sort, keep this advice in mind:

Top tips when considering virtual work experience


Some students find internships in other countries. Use our advice on finding jobs outside the UK to help with this. 

Finding jobs outside the UK

Some companies facilitate overseas internships, finding relevant experience for you in specific locations, and charging for this service. You’ll find many of these advertising on MyCareerHub. 

Researching overseas opportunities - what questions should you ask?

If you do an internship overseas, you may be asked to complete an internship agreement before you can start. Information on these can be found on our Internships Agreement page. 

Internships Agreement


The Saltire Scholars Programme is Entrepreneurial Scotland's flagship programme designed to find, grow and connect students with the ambition and potential of becoming future leaders for Scotland. The programme puts students on a year-long transformational development journey, culminating in an 8-12 week funded summer internship with host companies from all over the world.

On this journey, students undergo a robust recruitment process, empowering personal development workshops and work on real commercial projects with their host company. Through this, students unlock their full potential, foster an entrepreneurial mindset, and feel empowered to drive growth and impact as they navigate their future careers.

Saltire Scholars Programme

Mitacs Globalink Research Internship is a competitive initiative for international undergraduates. From May to October of each year, top-ranked applicants participate in a 12-week research internship under the supervision of Canadian academic institution faculty members in a variety of academic disciplines, from science, engineering, and mathematics to the humanities and social sciences.

Mitacs Globalink Research Internships can offer you an international experience like no other. Canada features excellent universities, outstanding research facilities, cutting-edge industry innovation, and unparalleled undergraduate training opportunities.

Mitacs Globalink Research Internships


This article was published on