Graduate Internships - Shaping Your Career and Future

Having internship experience will give any student additional benefits and a competitive edge while applying for jobs. An internship helps students to get company-based training from top organisations and professionals. It will also help them get hands-on job experience, increase their confidence and develop professional connections.

Yes, absolutely!

If you can arrange 3-4 days from your schedule, you might be able to apply for a part-time internship. You can also do a full-time internship during semester break or holidays.

The sooner, the better!

It’s better to do an internship while studying because students who have solid internship experience get hired faster after graduation. It also helps students get good learning experience and hands-on job-relative training.

Yes! Internships are primarily considered learning experiences. Students may be able to obtain study credits from their university for the time they spent and the work they have performed. Check with your university about earning study credits through a relevant internship today!

Yes, definitely. We provide our interns with a list of technical skills to brush up on before they commence their internships.

A number of graduates we’re working with at the moment are practicing skills in AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Google Analytics, HR processes and XERO accounting software.

While they are honing their skills, we are working on their CV and preparing them for internship interviews.

While you’re brushing up on your skills, we’ll be working on your Resume and talking to companies on your behalf.

Some internships in Australia are paid, but many are unpaid. We do however find that some companies are more than happy to provide an internship allowance. The internships that Career Success Australia organises will aim to secure a travel and meals allowance for you. About 70% of Career Success Australia’s interns receive a weekly allowance (usually $150-$200) for travel and meals.

The main purpose of you doing an internship in Australia is to get local experience and a reference from the host company. Without industry experience (which you get through an internship), it’s very difficult to get a job. An internship in Australia (even unpaid) will help you compete against the other 100+ applicants who already have industry experience.

While we try to arrange a small stipend to cover meals/travel, internships in Australia are generally unpaid. The main benefit is gaining valuable industry experience and a reference from your supervisor. Some companies provide the allowance – others don’t. The main benefit of doing an Internship in Australia (paid or unpaid) is to get your foot in the door which could lead to a full time job.

We advise to check with your migration agent first. However because an internship is not employment, there’s more flexibility to undertake a 12-week full time internship. Internship rules and regulations constantly change so while this advice is true as of today, it may change tomorrow so always seek the advice from a registered migration agent.

We have placed a number of international students on 485 post study work visas on internships. Many of these students have been offered full time jobs after their internship too. It’s difficult – but not impossible.

Good quality internships can take 4-16+ weeks to source. The time varies depending on your field of interest, your level of experience, the city/cities of preference, and even the time of year. For example, getting an internship in December/July takes more time as does an internship in an area like Biomedical Engineering (as there aren’t as many companies in this area compared to Accounting firms).

Many hiring managers in Australia look for experience first and foremost. Nowadays, having a Bachelor or Master degree from an Australian university is simply not enough. There are literally thousands of graduates with engineering, IT and accounting degrees.

An internship that gives you practical, hands-on experience in your industry is crucial and will set you apart all of the other graduates you’re competing with who also have a degree.

Many of our interns are hired either full time or part time after their internship, while others continue on with a part time internship while job searching.

We recommend that you update your resume after 8 weeks at your internship, to include your new responsibilities/skills/experience and new referees. It’s easier to get hired while you are still working in your field (either paid or unpaid), so you’ll want to begin your job search before you complete your internship.

The worst case scenario is that you don’t find a job within six months of completing your internship. You won’t have current experience, and you may need to do another internship! However, we have a plan to help you avoid this, because doing more than one internship in a year is not effective. The goal is to use your recent internship experience to get your next job.

Some of our interns prefer to job search on their own, while others enrol in our Custom Career Coaching to get one-on-one support with job interviews and offers.

We offer a comprehensive package that includes:
– A new Resume and cover letter
– 20 customised job applications
– Referrals to companies in our network who are looking for people with your skills/experience
– Interview training
– LinkedIn optimisation and training to find jobs in the hidden job market

Most of our clients who completed their internship then went on to career coaching successfully landed jobs within 3 months.