One of the benefits of internships is that it brings you in close and direct contact with industry experts in your chosen field. This unarguably helps to sharpen your skills and experience in your career.
Interestingly, doing your internship at a start-up company is something you should consider. This is basically because of the rigorous training which you’ll be going through that will, in turn, help you grow in your career.
In this article, as we proceed, I’ll show you some of the reasons why you should intern in a start-up company as well the easiest steps to help you find an internship placement with a start-up company.
Do follow me very closely as we proceed. Meanwhile, below is the table of contents to help you find your way around here.
Why do startups hire interns?
You may be wondering why in the world employers and companies hire Interns. Oh well, in many ways than one, there are reasons why startups prefer to hire interns sometimes than full-blown experts.
The first reason is that working with interns helps to increase productivity. In the same vein, interns make finding and hiring talents later on easier.
Furthermore, companies desire to achieve tremendous results but with little or no expenses. So hiring and working with interns helps companies to maximize their productivity while spending less.
Hiring and working with startups helps them (companies) train and raise younger industry experts who will help the company move forward and then take up the mantle of leadership from the older executives. In other words, hiring interns instead of entry-level full-time hires gives the employer, the ability to see capabilities and evaluate skills for potential full-time hires.
The recruitment process for interns can be a valuable opportunity for employers to reach out to local colleges and universities and create valuable relationships for all parties involved. It can be an avenue of collaboration between companies and institutions of higher learning.
Why should I intern at a Startup?
There are so many reasons why should consider interning at a startup company. The first reason is that startups are a great place to gain an immense amount of industry experience.
Furthermore, interning at a startup will give you a host of real-life experiences that will be impossible to get in any other industry in your career lane.
Most startups pay very well. So when you get to intern at a startup you get paid some real cool bucks. You can save the money or you can reinvest the money.
Another beautiful thing about small startups is that you meet so many talented people, who are just starting off. Not only will they teach you but also guide you for your future. They could act as references for you in the coming years.
Having your internship at a startup opens up your mind to so many endless possibilities of what you can do and create. It turns you into an innovator.
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How much do startups pay interns?
How much startups pay their interns varies between startups. Some will offer less than $20/hr and some will offer closer to $40/hr.
Some will even offer a full salary. Sometimes it depends a lot on how well-established the intern program is and which the startup you look to work with.
For example, Google, Uber, Microsoft and Apple pay interns $6000 to $7000 every month.
How do I intern for a startup? Easy Step-by Step Guide
If you want to intern with a startup, what you’ll find here in this section may just be what you need to get yourself what you desire. In this section, I’m going to show you the easiest ways of getting an internship placement in a startup company.
How to get an internship with a start-up with a start-up
Look here to find the most trusted hacks on how to land startup internships. Take your time to read.
#1. Search for Startup internships
The first step to finding a startup internship is really make out time to search for them. Get on search engines and search. You can also ask some friends who may enlightened to help you search too. You might have one or two persons who have a few networks you can leverage.
Another platform you can leverage is LinkedIn. Employers advertise a lot of opportunities that may be interesting to you on LinkedIn. You can get on the platform and search for startup internship opportunities.
#2. Carefully target and make a list of the companies you want to work with
You already should have a few companies in mind where you want to work. And during your search you should find a few more to add to the ones you had already. So the thing here is, make a list of everything you have so you know you what you are pursuing.
Look for companies in sectors that you’re interested in and that have right size to accommodate you. You should target companies that are not too big. Companies fewer than 200 employees will probably work best, as they are likely to have less rigid hiring policies.
#3. Carefully remark the timing of the internships to take proactive action
If you find any internship during your search, what you’ll need to do is to read up all there is about the startup. Carefully note and remark the application timeline so you can apply well on time. Remember, if you apply on time, you stand a better chance to be considered.
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#4. Begin to send out messages to the listed organizations
Now the next thing you’ll need to do is to send out messages to the companies you listed out. You can send to the HR or to the founder. The message you send should express your desire to intern at the company. In summary, it should capture what we’ll discuss in the following lines.
Who you are and what you’re looking for – Include a brief bio (what you’re studying or what you’re working on now) and the dates you’re available
Why you’re interested in the company – You could include where you read about the company and what you like about the mission or product. Use recent articles on the company to make smart comments that show you’ve done your research.
What value you can add – You don’t need to be too precise about this, but try writing something that shows an understanding of where you might fit in.
One way to do this is to look up the different teams at the company (you’ll find most of the employees on LinkedIn where you can see their job titles to get an idea of the teams) and then highlight the ones where you’d be most useful.
For example, if they have a sales development team you think you’d fit into, mention the customer-facing work you’ve done before and your competitive personality as reasons why you’d add value.
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Intern at a Startup-Frequently Asked Questions
Google interns get paid very handsomely more than most full-time employees across the country. According to Glassdoor, the average Google intern makes $5,678 per month or $68,136 per year.
Interns at Apple earn a minimum of $6,667 monthly.
Yes. Some companies like Google, Uber, Microsoft, and Apple provide housing for their interns.
Experienced interns earn between $47,000-$63, 000 each year.
Conclusion
I want to give you one piece of advice and it’s this: make sure you spend time researching each of the companies and writing quality emails.
Do not write any company without conducting in-depth research on what they stand for and what they do. I can bet this step to step guide will land you into your dream organization.
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