How to Turn Your Internship or Placement into a Graduate Job Offer

Be proactive

During your summer internship or placement, there’ll be times when you'll be super busy and other times when you might have a little less to do.

While it’s important not to overload yourself, why not ask your manager or colleagues to see if there’s anything you can do to help. You could get involved with other parts of the company or even do a short course or training relevant to your role.

This will allow you to enhance your CV with new skills, but also get your name recognised by others around the business.

Build genuine relationships

Working for a new company and getting to know a new group of people can be daunting, but it’s so worth doing.

Get to know your team (and beyond). Learn their names and what they do. Ask questions without being invasive and be a general joy to be around.

Got a team lunch in the diary? Attend. Company socials? Attend (more on this later).

Employers are more likely to remember the students who really got stuck in and made an effort to get to know people.

Speak up

You’ll be involved in a lot of meetings. If you have an idea, share it. Even if you can’t think of something in the moment and you think of an idea a day later, it’s always worth going back with suggestions.

You’re not going to know everything and you’re not expected to; it’s all about being willing to contribute. Imposter syndrome might creep in here, but nerves mean you care. Even if an idea doesn’t get used or if it’s not quite right, you actually got involved. That says a lot.

Get involved with the company culture

Show you’re part of the team beyond your day-to-day tasks.

You don’t have to go to every single social event, but it’s worth attending the big ones (like summer or Christmas parties) and getting involved in any social clubs or groups.

Some companies might have sports teams, book clubs or employee networks (like DE&I) or culture groups (we have these at Higherin!)

These are all great ways to meet people outside your team and show you're genuinely interested in being part of the company.

Don’t be afraid to ask

Being keen isn’t a bad thing; it can actually be a huge asset. If you really see yourself working at this company beyond your internship or placement, there’s nothing wrong with making that known.

At the end of my placement, I asked if there was any chance of extending it. There was a gap between my placement ending and going back to university, so I wanted to fill that time with something useful.

The answer was yes! That extra time meant I took on work outside the usual placement tasks, which gave the team a chance to see what else I could really contribute. It's a big part of why I ended up with a graduate job offer.

If they say no, that’s fine (and might not be a no forever). If they say yes, perfect.

You’ve done the hard part already - you found work experience. Now it’s about showing up, getting stuck in and advocating for yourself. You’ve got this.