Written by Ivanna
28 Oct 2017
Last month I started a series of articles, sharing my experiences doing an internship in Sweden, what to expect and challenges to overcome.
Now it is time for more practical information about how to get an internship in Sweden. I made a list of 8 suggestions you should consider in order to have a successful outcome in the process of getting the internship of your dreams. Internships are an excellent way to learn more insights about your field and experience the working culture in Sweden.
Keep in mind that the process won’t be a piece of cake because the market is very competitive and there are many others qualified students looking for the same thing, so you have to be patient and persistent, but trust me, it will be totally worth it!
1. First thing first, put together a competitive resume
Don’t just highlight your academic qualifications but also emphasize skills, projects you have been involved in, competences and international experiences that can make you stand out from the rest of the applicants. Also, for creative fields such as advertisement, media and communication, it helps to show a portfolio of your work or add links of relevant content you have published.
2. Start your search in time
And when I say “in time”, I mean at least 6 month in advance, especially if you are aiming to get a position in a big multinational company.
3. Update your LinkedIn profile
(Or create one if you don’t have) and add in your personal description that you’re currently looking for an internship. It also helps to become more active in the platform, share content related to your interests and even better: write some articles. This will increase your chances to appear in the top of the search of employees.
4. Use career portals such as:
Jobteaser ↗️
Glass Door ↗️
5. Approach your university career center
This can be useful to get information about partnerships with companies or positions available that they can connect you with and job fairs. For example, Lund University has this useful page ↗️ for students and graduates looking for jobs and internships in Sweden.
6. Don’t just look for internship positions that are already published, contact directly companies that you’re interested in.
I did this a lot, and got several replies and interviews. Just find the leading companies in your sector or the ones you admire and use the contact information section in their webpage to find their email, send them an email with your resume and expressing your interest in doing an internship with them. Most won’t answer right away but if you have patience and remember to follow up your correspondence this could actually lead you to a great opportunity.
7. Reach out to your network
Tell your friends you’re looking for an internship, send an email to your teachers to see if they can connect you with someone, keep contact with guest lecturers and reach out for them too for advice.
8. Be organized!
Make a document to track who you have sent emails to, when, for what position and in what company so it’s easier to send reminder emails or contact them in the future in case they are not hiring at the moment.
Extra advice…
My friend Justina, from Lithuania, just completed her internship at Invest in Skane ↗️ so I asked her for some general advice. This is what she said:
Still with doubts?
Here you can read a blogpost wrote by Angelina, with the 10 top frequently ask questions and answers regarding internships in Sweden.
Now time to put words into action. Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions. Good luck with your search! 🙂
/Ivanna
