Internships open doors but only if students can first find the key

For disadvantaged young people, the lack of access and confidence can lock them out of critical early career opportunities. Let's fix that.

- Clarence Ching

As a university student years ago, I recall how daunting it was to secure an internship. I had spent hours writing my resume, personalising cover letters and contacting more than 50 companies—without much success. The fear of being left behind overwhelmed me.

Even at a time before the rise of networking platform LinkedIn and the advent of artificial intelligence-filtering services for resumes, prior internship experience was said to be a key consideration for hiring managers sieving through dozens of applications to fill an entry-level role. Internships, once seen as a good-to-have to help fresh graduates gain exposure and learn practical industry-relevant skills, was becoming a must-have for job candidates who want to stand out in a crowded field.

With the power of hindsight today, I would say persistence paid off. Through cold e-mailing, I landed my first internship at a prominent global advisory firm and later, a second, this time at their headquarters in London.

It gave me a front-row seat to the practice of government relations, and left me with a deeper understanding of policy development, public consultation and how to navigate the complex relationships between the public and private sectors.

Perhaps I was fortunate. The exposure and experience afforded me a sense of perspective from access to key decision-makers and learning how they think about the world, and built confidence and mastery, with each project under the careful supervision of a senior executive.

The job shadowing and structured nature of my internship provided me with a clearer idea of what government relations entailed and enabled me to make many informed choices about my future, including the decision that this field was not for me and to eventually move into the people sector instead.

In short, internships got me more ready to join the world of work.

THE OPPORTUNITY DIVIDE