No 2021 internship? Top 3 alternative ways to get experience this summer.

If you haven't secured a summer 2021 internship, scrolling through LinkedIn can be depressing these days. Announcement posts, photos of shiny home office setups, and enthusiastic summaries of a first few weeks with top companies can make you feel like you are falling behind. We are all well aware of the key role work experience at university plays in our future, and it is traditionally acquired by getting a summer internship at a corporation. While this is a praise worthy endeavour, it is absolutely not the only way to get that coveted industry experience under your belt. With a whopping 74% of students voting 'no' on my poll a couple of weeks ago, I decided to lay out a couple of alternative approaches you can take to have a successful summer.

1. Approach a local company

The most obvious thing to do if you didn't land a classic corporate internship is to look further (or should I say...closer?). While society conditions us to believe that the only worthwhile internships are ones with Fortune 500 companies, this belief can be detrimental to a student's early career development. The internship is so much more than a fancy brand name on your CV. It is about gaining practical skills, working on real-world projects, and signalling to your future employer what you can contribute.

"Even if you are dead set on landing a job at a renowned corporate, an internship at a smaller business is a great stepping stone."

An internship at a local SME can provide you with all of the above, arguably even more successfully than a classic corporate. Small companies are usually appreciative of every extra pair of hands, so you will have the opportunity to make real impact and add value. Even if you are dead set on landing a job at a renowned corporate, an internship at a smaller business is a great stepping stone. For example, I spent the summer after my first year of uni interning at a small local business (only 3 employees at the time). I got to present to local entrepreneurs about the impact of US-China trade war on the UK economy, help shape the company's strategy, and work closely with the CEO. This experience later on proved key to landing my current placement at the Bank of England, who valued my research skills and knowledge of macroeconomic affairs. If I didn't do that internship, I strongly believe I wouldn't have gotten an offer from BoE.

Next steps

• research nearby business parks/innovation centres, and the companies they are hosting
• connect with local business owners on LinkedIn
• ideally, show existing knowledge of the company and its issues when reaching out

2. Work on your own passion project - and share it!

A few decades ago, doing a formal internship used to be the only way for a student to get onto the career ladder, but that is no longer the case. If you didn't land an internship offer, you can easily leverage the power of internet and social media to create your own work experience.

The general idea is to pick an topic within your field, and create a project around it. You are doing a marketing degree? Great, you can run an analysis of different SEO strategies. A finance student? A case study of a particular stock's performance might be your cup of tea. A computer science student could build a face detection software using OpenCV library... the possibilities are endless!

"In order to be found, you have to be findable."

The beauty of this approach is that it works for every degree subject and every industry, with just a bit of creativity needed. However, it is vital that you share your project. Even if you think your it is "amateurish" or not good enough, it is crucial to post about it on LinkedIn, Twitter, your own blog... or whichever corner of the internet you feel the most comfortable with. While it is important to produce quality work, it is more important to be out there. You can be excellent at what you do, but in order to be found, you have to be findable. Sharing your work online can not only catch the eye of a future employer, but also connect you to field experts, potential mentors, and fellow enthusiasts. And there is absolutely nothing to lose.

Next steps

• To feel less overwhelmed, spend some time outlining a project plan
• Find out if something similar has already been done. If yes, can you reach out to the author to point you in the right direction?
• Ideally, start sharing right from the start instead of waiting to perfect your project. Share rough drafts, struggles, and small steps - it makes for great content and is easier to relate to!

3. Content creation

Social media make an excellent platform for creating original content, and can therefore serve as a springboard for your career. We all spend hours each day scrolling through our socials, so why not contribute to other people's feeds? Focus on a trending topic in your target field, and frame your content around it. This works in a very similar way to the passion project idea, with the key difference being the output. Instead of producing a tangible piece of work, such as stock market analysis, here you are communicating with your audience by sharing your thoughts. This can take form of a YouTube video, TikTok clips, or perhaps a LinkedIn article - whatever you feel the most comfortable with!

While this may not fit in the narrowest definition of 'work experience', it is an excellent way to signal passion and interest to future employers. Imagine your next company knowing who you are before you even show up for the interview, just because the hiring manager watched your YouTube videos!

An extra bonus of this approach is that, besides developing field expertise, you acquire other marketable skills like writing and video editing. These can come in useful later on if you start a side hustle or your own company.

Next steps

• Connect on LinkedIn with content creators and experts within your niche
• Choose a platform (at the beginning, pick only one and stick to it)
• Start posting consistently - consistency compounds over time

The bottom line is to put yourself out there, taking whichever approach you deem the most appropriate. To cite late journalist David Carr, "You have to make stuff. No one is going to give a damn about your resume; they want to see what you have made with your own little fingers". In today's day and age, it is what you create and the value you add that count. And the tools to do so are at your fingertips.