In the last 6 months, I have used a few online platforms as well as other means to recruit interns for various roles at Women’s Web. While some applications have been relevant and presented well, others made me throw up my hands in horror!

With internship season usually peaking during the summer (April-June), this is the time to look out and start applying.

So, here are a few things NOT to do when applying for an internship (or a job, for that matter).

DON’T:

Apply for an irrelevant role:

If the ad calls for an intern with a background in journalism, don’t apply stating your knowledge of C++, Java or mechanical engineering. It only wastes your time and the recruiter’s. If you are confident that your skills are needed by that company, for a different role, state that in your email and give specific examples of how you can help.

Use ‘i’. ‘i would like a role in ur reputed organization’

The moment I see an email written like this, I press the delete button. If you cannot be bothered to press the shift key to type out a capital ‘I’, chances are that you won’t pay too much attention to your work either. Take the effort to use proper spelling.

Ignore instructions:

If the ad states that you must write ‘For Java programmer role Code No. 3456’ in the subject line, do it. If you cannot follow a simple instruction, I will not hire you, no matter how talented you may be or how fantastic the rest of your resume is.

Send a standard resume:

I’m not interested in you; I’m only interested in how you can help me and my company. Don’t use the same resume for a start-up developing mobile apps and a software firm focused on the financial sector. Learn a little bit more about what they do – read their website, talk to friends or seniors in the workplace and customize your resume accordingly.

Send without re-reading:

All email providers today have a ‘save as draft’ option. Use it. Save your application e-mail after writing it. Open it a few hours later and check - are there any mistakes? Have you left anything out? Can you improve it in any way? You don’t need to be the first applicant, you need to be the best one!
Good luck and wish you a successful internship!

This is guest post by Aparna V. Singh, who is the founder of Women’s Web, an online magazine and community for Indian women, that covers career development, parenting, finance, health and other relevant issues.

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