I have spent a huge amount of time trying to search for internships and placements throughout my second year. At one point I felt like giving up because of all the constant rejections. All my friends were getting offers from companies whilst I kept on getting rejections. Why me? I always thought to myself. What have I done wrong?
First of all, it is very important to apply early and be proactive, a huge number of companies begin advertising as early as September. There's a lot of help out there from speaking to your universities career service to a range of useful websites you can sign up to to get great tips and alerts of new placements and internships available. I made a list of all companies I wanted to apply to and made sure I researched about them properly to find out about their values and beliefs and see if they align with mine.
One of the best advice I have received is to look at the role not the company, a lot of students get carried away with wanting to go prestigious well-known companies without having a clue what their role involves and end up becoming overwhelmed. That is why it is very important to see if the role suits you.
Another great thing to do is network. There are alot of events targeted for students seeking placements from various different companies. The benefits of networking is that it brings you so many opportunities by making important connections. "It’s not what you know, but who you know". Platforms like LinkedIn is a great way of getting out there and showcasing what you have to offer .With networking it could open doors for you to meet inspiring and influential people that could help shape your career.
I would say the key is to keep trying and learn from every rejection you get. It is very helpful and important to get feedback from every interview and assessment centres you have been to. By getting feedback you can work on things you need to improve on in order to put it into action in your next interview.