Are you thinking about finding an internship through AIESEC? Then there are a few things you should know.
One of AIESEC’s services is the access to their database of internships GIP (Global Internship Programme).
The internships seem professional in the sense that the intern has real responsibilities within his/her field and they are often well paid (considering the wage level of the countries). There are internships to find across the globe although very few in for example the US. It should be noted that the access to the database costs around 2500 DKK* in which case I also expected a professional service during the entire process.
This is all information you are given upon entering the programme and additionally you are informed that your preferences regarding geographical location of the internship must be rather broad.
For me this was fine since I wanted to do an internship in either Latin America or central/western Europe.
I began applying right away and I found many internships of my interest within these regions.
One of AIESEC’s services is the access to their database of internships GIP (Global Internship Programme).
The internships seem professional in the sense that the intern has real responsibilities within his/her field and they are often well paid (considering the wage level of the countries). There are internships to find across the globe although very few in for example the US. It should be noted that the access to the database costs around 2500 DKK* in which case I also expected a professional service during the entire process.
This is all information you are given upon entering the programme and additionally you are informed that your preferences regarding geographical location of the internship must be rather broad.
For me this was fine since I wanted to do an internship in either Latin America or central/western Europe.
I began applying right away and I found many internships of my interest within these regions.
The first disappointment occurred when I realized that France has a national policy that interns must be students during the entire internship and that the university has to sign a form saying that the internship is part of your degree. Since I recently finished my bachelor’s degree this is not the case for me. Later it turned out to be the case for many German companies as well. This is information I wish I had known earlier on.
I kept applying in other countries but at one point I realized that I had received pretty much no feedback at all from anybody. No confirmation notices, no interview invitations and even no rejections.
I began wondering whether or not my applications were even being considered. I changed strategy by asking questions about the internship before applying. Around 1 in 10 responded. Often with the information that they had already found an intern or something similar. One time the rejection was caused by the fact that the company had “preselected some interns”. And this is another problem; it is not always clear from the database when the internships expire or whether or not they have already found somebody. In other words, you risk wasting your time applying for internships that are no longer available.
The ironic part comes now. I have received around 50 e-mails from AIESEC departments in India encouraging me to apply for one of their internships. In addition I have received a few from the rest of Asia and a few from Eastern Europe. Finally I received an e-mail from a department in Brazil encouraging me to apply for their internship and so I did.
I kept applying in other countries but at one point I realized that I had received pretty much no feedback at all from anybody. No confirmation notices, no interview invitations and even no rejections.
I began wondering whether or not my applications were even being considered. I changed strategy by asking questions about the internship before applying. Around 1 in 10 responded. Often with the information that they had already found an intern or something similar. One time the rejection was caused by the fact that the company had “preselected some interns”. And this is another problem; it is not always clear from the database when the internships expire or whether or not they have already found somebody. In other words, you risk wasting your time applying for internships that are no longer available.
The ironic part comes now. I have received around 50 e-mails from AIESEC departments in India encouraging me to apply for one of their internships. In addition I have received a few from the rest of Asia and a few from Eastern Europe. Finally I received an e-mail from a department in Brazil encouraging me to apply for their internship and so I did.
All in all, this is what you should know about finding an internship with AIESEC:
You pay a substantial fee to access the database but the students that run the initial application process are not being paid. So although is it natural to assume a professional service do not expect that. Another problem is the bureaucracy. Typically one low ranging AIESEC member is the contact person for the internship, when he/she finds a prospective intern it goes on to her/his boss and then to the company. So in many cases there are at least three links before you reach the company.
The next thing is the application process. Forget about applying. You clearly have to wait for somebody to write you (unless you like wasting your time by sending out applications that are never even reviewed).
It is very ironic that internships are listed in the database ready for applications when interns are preselected and contacted by e-mail. What is the point with the database and the search functions?
You pay a substantial fee to access the database but the students that run the initial application process are not being paid. So although is it natural to assume a professional service do not expect that. Another problem is the bureaucracy. Typically one low ranging AIESEC member is the contact person for the internship, when he/she finds a prospective intern it goes on to her/his boss and then to the company. So in many cases there are at least three links before you reach the company.
The next thing is the application process. Forget about applying. You clearly have to wait for somebody to write you (unless you like wasting your time by sending out applications that are never even reviewed).
It is very ironic that internships are listed in the database ready for applications when interns are preselected and contacted by e-mail. What is the point with the database and the search functions?
Would I recommend AIESEC GIP programme? If you have no specific country in mind, then yes (in which case you will end up in India). Otherwise: no.
A few other things:
- Language skills are often a requirement. Languages in high demand: English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Mandarin
- Most typical types of internships: business, marketing, programming and IT, language teaching and engineering.
- The salary varies a lot. In most countries the amount is enough to get by on, but if your travel expenses add up don’t expect them to be covered by the salary.
Examples of salary/month by country:
India: 250 USD
Mexico: 700 USD
Western Europe: 1000-1400 USD
Brazil: 400 USD
Chile: 900 USD - There are very few internships in: The US, Canada, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Spain
- There are many internships in: India, China, Brazil, Taiwan, Germany
- If you do not find an internship you can get your money back (there are some requirements you have to fulfill). It does not compensate the time you have wasted though.
*2500 DKK = 450 USD
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