Internship in Singapore: Tips to Get Your Suitable Internship

If you're students or recent graduates, and have zero or minimal work experience, that's totally normal. Landing to secure and dream jobs is the most thing that jobseekers want. But, before you get your first job, firstly you need to make the transition from college to full-time jobs.

As per the findings of NACE's Class of Student Survey, over half of graduating seniors who applied for full-time jobs (53.2%) received at least one job offer. Among this group, 57.5% of students have experience in internships and 43.7% of those without received job offers. Not bad, huh?

In Singapore, internship opportunities are widespread, facilitated by various companies that have streamlined application processes. Furthermore, the government, through Careers@Gov, has established a dedicated website a dedicated website for students to facilitate easier internship job searches.

Curious about the benefits an internship can offer? Interested in some valuable tips how to get better internship oppotunity? Let's explore these aspects in the discussion below.

▶ Also Read: Top 10 Highest-Paying Tech Jobs in Singapore in 2024

An internship is a short-term work experience provided by companies for fresh graduates.

Internships differ from full-time employment. The duration of an internship ranges from 3 months to a year. After completing the internship period, individuals can either extend their internship or apply for promotion to a full-time position.

According to a Statista research, among all Singaporean students or fresh graduates, only 38.7% of them takes internships. While, 46% did not participate in any internships.

Although the number is still low, internships can offer various benefits depending on your personal goals. Generally, both hard and soft skills are significantly developed, providing insights into what a full-time job entails.

Moreover, there's the opportunity to receive a monthly salary during an internship. According to Glassdoor, the average monthly salary for interns in Singapore ranges from SGD700 to SGD1,500 depending on which industry students work with.

Yes, it's totally worth it.

Getting work experience is super important when you're just starting your career after graduating. The sooner you start adding experience to your resume, the better. And remember, work experience isn't just about big office jobs.

In a survey by Remote Internships, almost half of the students (46.25%) said that internships are really important.

Another study by Yello found that if you've done an internship, students are likely to get 1.17 job offers on average, while those without internship experience get only 0.98 offers.

Additionally, as per the findings in the State of Millennial Hiring Report, graduates who successfully complete more than three internships have a higher likelihood of landing a full-time job.

But it's not just about job offers. Internships are great for making connections. You meet people in your field, learn about their strategies for handling challenges, and see how they get their work done.

People have different skills, and watching them work during an internship helps you figure out how to work well with different types of people in different job settings. You can take their strategies and adapt them to your own situation.

Securing an internship in Singapore can be a fulfilling experience, but it demands thorough preparation and effort. Below is a comprehensive guide to assist you in obtaining your desired internship.

1. Self-Research and Exploration

Firstly, you can find out about different industries and companies in Singapore. Look at what their value, their culture, and the internships the companies offer. Checking news articles, their websites, and job websites to get this info will be beneficial for you.

Next, try to explore internship opportunity in Singapore on job portals like Careers@Gov, InternSG, AIESEC Singapore, LinkedIn, Epicareer, and others.

In addition to job portals, check the career pages of specific companies you are targeting.

The most popular industries for internships in Singapore are finance, technology, and engineering. If you are currently in search of an internship, the following links may be helpful:

Internship in Tech/Developer/IT Engineering

Internship in Sales

Internship in Marketing

Internship in Customer Service

Internship in HR

2. From Campus

Almost every year, a university organizes a job fair at least once, such as NTU, NUS, Singapore University of Technology and Design, and other universities. Don't just focus on the job fair at your own campus. Try visiting job fairs at other campuses or organized by different institutions.

Before going to a job fair, make sure you come in neat attire and bring your CV, cover letter, current transcript, and portfolio (if available) in both physical and electronic forms.

Also, make sure you update and check the campus bulletin boards and emails for the latest announcements about job openings and internships.

3. Asking Friends or Other Networks

Sometimes, internship opportunities exist but aren't officially posted on job portals.

Therefore, there's no harm in trying to ask someone who works at your dream company about internship possibilities.

You can use contacts from the company you're interested in, reach out to recruiters through LinkedIn. Ask politely, and make sure to:

1. Introduce yourself.
2. Provide context about your current search for an internship in a specific field.
3. Inquire if the company currently has any internship openings.
4. Close with a thank-you message.

Similar to finding a full-time job, you need to be careful in finding a good internship opportunity.

1. Ensure the job description aligns

Make sure you're not doing tasks meant for a full-time employee or a team. Additionally, ensure that the internship title matches its job description.

For example, if the position is for a Accountant Intern but the job description involves hiring persons tasks, that's an example of a mismatched job description.

2. Ensure there's an opportunity to learn

The goal of participating in an internship is to learn.

Alongside the job description, check with HR and the user if there are additional activities that can support your learning process.

For instance, learning public speaking through presenting monthly reports.

Don't end up doing things during your internship that don't contribute to your learning process. In the end, you might not gain anything from the internship.

3. Ensure your resume and cover letter stand out

Here's a bitter truth you need to know: you'll be competing with many people from diverse educational backgrounds who may seem more attractive.

However, luck is still on your side.

To stand out among these candidates, create a compelling resume and cover letter.

Include various achievements, learning motivations, and strong aspirations in your resume and cover letter.

▶ Also Read: 7 Tips for an Effective Job Searching Process

Are you ready to look for an internship in Singapore?

Prepare everything needed for the recruitment process. If you get accepted, good luck with your internship journey!

If you're currently looking for an internship, you can try Epicareer. There are various companies with internship openings there. You can use the Job Recommendation feature and filter for "internship," and Epicareer will recommend suitable internship positions based on your latest education.

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