Hey Everybody!
First of all, it's been a very very very long time since I posted a blog about Artificial Intelligence in 2015.
Well, from NOW ON, I had decided to share some of my experiences back then when I was in college through MY BLOGS + VIDEOS.
Thanks to my friends who had supported me and asked me to make these kinds of contents in the future. I WILL DO MY BEST! :)
I knew that most of my friends are an Indonesian native speaker. But, since I also have Non-Indonesian friends and I want to make these posts understandable to both of them, I decided to use MOST OF MY POSTS in ENGLISH.
But DON'T WORRY!!! I'll do my best to give Subtitles (Either Indonesian or English) on The Videos.
Enough with The Chit Chat! LET'S GET STARTED!
For Audiovisual Lover, You Can Watch The Video Here:
Or You Can Just Read It Here:
1. Make Your Own Curriculum Vitae (CV) / Resume
Some of the companies out there have different requirements. Either they asked for your CV or Resume. Don't get wrong with the format differences.
In my Dictionary:
The Curriculum Vitae (CV) is The "Complete Version" of your experiences, life, and journeys. It would probably reach above 5-8 pages for your CV. So, my advice don't you overthink on choosing "What are the experiences that I would like to put on my CV?". Because you have the freedom to put as many experiences as you want.
The Resume is The "Best Version" of your experiences, life, and journeys. Most people would recommend 1-2 pages long maximum for your Resume. Also, you have to remember that you should put the academic or work or organisation related only experiences in your Resume. It's different from the CV, So you have to think and choose carefully "What are the experiences that I would like to put on my Resume?"
Lately, I learned that "Most Companies or Institutions wouldn't have that much time to read your lengthy pages CV since they have so many applicants out there."
That's why recently, I'd prefer to use my Resume than my CV.
If you would like to get My CV/Resume Format, you can see it here!
TIPS: Put Your Best Part (Experiences or Educations or Achievements) at The Top of Your CV/Resume (Below The Summary).
*Note: If you're from an Art Major or applying to an Artsy Job, you would probably consider a Creative CV for your application. But since I'm an Engineer and I would like to use this CV/Resume for my application to universities later (Hope so). So, I used the "Professional CV/Resume Format."
2. Make a Cover Letter
I wouldn't say this is optional. Because, if you want to send out your CV/Resume to the companies, you should introduce yourself in a letter form.
If you're Indonesian, probably you already know that we usually use "Surat Lamaran Kerja" when we want to apply to the Indonesian Companies. But, I didn't use this letter for my internship applications because I can't tell "Why I applied to the X Company to have an internship?"
This is how I formatted my Cover Letter:
Subject: ['Apply'/'Ask'] Internship at {Company Name}
E-mail Body:
Dear {Company Name},
First of all, please let me introduce myself. My name is {Your Full Name}, and I am at the 6th semester of my Bachelor Degree in {Your Major} at {Your University Name}, {University's City, Country} and having achieved a current GPA x.xx/4.0.
In this semester, I have a compulsory course about internship where I should spend my summer time ({Targeted Start Date} – {Targeted End Date}) with working at IT Company. Having this opportunity, I would love to do my internship at {Company Name}. But I would like to ask whether there’s any internship that available or not? Because I’ve searched on the website that there’s no internship position.
I look forward to hearing from you, and I would love the opportunity to discuss this application. I also have attached my CV in this email just in case if you wanted to know more about me. I wish you all the best, and I really hope everything is going well as you desire.
Best Regards,
{Your Full Name}
3. Find The Internship Program
There are 4 ways to find the internship program:
3a. Go to The Job Searching Websites
These are some of the Job Searching Websites that I used to find the internship:
Other websites:
and many more!
3b. The "Brute Force" Search
Honestly, I don't know how to name this step (Hehe). Because of the exhaustive technique in finding the internship vacancies for each company, so I named this step "The Brute Force Search."
How to Do It?
Decide what are the companies that you would like to get the internship? (I put them in these categories: Big Companies, Mid-Startups, and New-Born Startups).
Search the career page of those companies that you have listed "One-By-One"! (Use this format: "{Company Name} Career").
Click on the career page (The Example Link: https://careers.bridestory.com/).
Check the vacancies! Are they opening any internship programs or not?
If yes, you definitely can apply directly there! If not, you should try my other techniques down below! ;)
3c. Apply Directly to Each Companies' E-mail
If you didn't find any internship programs on their Company's Career Website or on The Job Searching Websites, you could ask the company whether they have an internship program for students who are from your background / major.
Again with The "One-By-One" Term :P
Well, these are the steps to do it:
[Same like above]: Decide what are the companies that you would like to get the internship? (I put them in these categories: Big Companies, Mid-Startups, and New-Born Startups).
Find the HR Emails on their Company Websites. (The Example of HR / Recruiters Email: recruitment.jakarta@mirumagency.com)
If you aren't sure whether they have any internship programs that are opened, you can use the [ASK] in your subject line. But, if you saw that they have the internship programs but no internship programs for your specific background/major, or they have the Division, but they didn't post any internship vacancies for that Division, you can use the [APPLY] in your subject line.
Send your CV/Resume + The Cover Letter to The HR / Recruiters Email! (*Note: You can use my Cover Letter Format on above)
3d. Ask People Around You
This is the last but not the least technique: "Asking Other People".
*Important Note: Communication and Networking Skills are Required! (A Little Bit :P)
What I did was I asked my Family, Parents, Friends, Seniors, even Strangers from LinkedIn.
To the well-known people, I asked them whether they need any interns at their company? Or they might have friends that need interns for their company. You'd probably get a recommendation to do your internship there! :D
If they're strangers on LinkedIn, you should introduce yourself first and ask about the company or internship programs there. Well, almost like (3b) and (3c), but the differences are No CV/Resume Required and Using LinkedIn Message. (I tried this way because I wanted to try "The Less-Crowded Channel" to apply there :P). But yeah, the chance is pretty small to get the internship. Because you barely know Him/Her and they don't know you as "A Real Person".
So, Just Ask Them! (In a Good Manner Okay! :D)
4. Prepare Your Interview
Yeay! Finally, this is the last step!!!
After you get a callback or email response from the company, you definitely have to prepare your interview.
Based on my experiences, there are 2 types of interview:
Technical Interview (Need to solve some problems with algorithm through programming languages). Usually, a well-known company or a developed IT company requires this interview, especially If you're applying for the technical positions (For Example Web Developer, Mobile App Developer, Data Engineer, Network Engineer, and many more)
HR Interview. Usually, this is the last interview before you get the result whether you got the internship or not. This interview is not as intimidating as the Technical Interview. Since you're applying an Internship Program (not a Full-Time Job), in my experience they wouldn't be hard on you. So, just relax and have fun!
Okay! That's all the steps that I can share with you guys! I hope it will be helpful for you! :D
MY ADVICE AND TIPS & TRICKS!
Apply as Early as Possible! -> If you're applying for Summer Internship, I recommend you to apply on January to February. Because you have to give 1 until 4 months for them to review your CV/Resume and do all of the interviews. You'd probably need some alternatives later. If the "X Company" didn't reach out to you after your interview and even the other companies didn't call you back or respond to your email, you can still apply to other companies. (So, you will be safe from uncertainty :D)
Apply to as Many Company as You Can! -> Since you're searching for internships and you'd probably have deadlines to get your acceptance letter, my advice is to send at least 5 to 10 internship applications. Because you would never know, whether they will reach out to you or not. (This is Important!)
Finally! Done! Thank you for reading until the very end! I'm so happy to share my experiences with you all!
Just let me know if you have any questions or probably want to share your experience by commenting on "How to Get an Internship Video" on My YouTube :D
See ya later!