“Leaving that sinking ship that is Italy,” Luca describes his initial motivation to come to Denmark.

"It was just a series of totally crazy coincidences that brought me to my bachelor’s first and my master’s in Techno-Anthropology at AAU afterwards. However, as my studies went on, I started to have a more precise vision of what I’d like to do."

The jobs he found in Denmark were also somehow coincidental. He found all 3 of them through his network.

“The first position was mentioned to me by a flatmate, who worked at the company and knew of the opening and of my interest for working in robotics. The second position I found out about because another friend tagged me on the LinkedIn post that the recruiter herself had made.”

“Finally, the opening for my internship position at Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS) was posted by a professor of ours on the Facebook group for Techno-Anthropology. He said that it would be a good opportunity.”

 

Showing personality in the internship application

The internship advertisement in the Facebook group caught Luca’s attention:

“I am a huge sci-fi nerd, so the idea of working for an institute for future studies really got me.“

He began the application process by having a thorough look at the organisation’s website, and then writing a targeted cover letter focusing on showing them 3 things:

1. That he had researched them
2. What he could do and what he had already done
3. Who he is as a person

Professionally, number 2 was a bit difficult, seeing as they were not looking for anything very specific, Luca explains:

"Number 3, the personal aspect proved crucial, because it is an organisation where people care for having nice and interesting colleagues, especially when it comes to interns, since nobody can reasonably expect us to write an application that is all about previous work experiences and successes."

 

The luxury of 2 offers and a panic choice

Already 1 day after Luca sent the application, CIFS invited him for an online interview.

“It turned out to be a very nice and very informal chat with a guy who was an intern himself.”

The hard work Luca had done matching their cool organisation in the cover letter paid off:

Later that day, they offered him the internship. But then something unexpected happened:

“Actually, I had also applied for a position at an anthropology-driven consultancy firm and got offered that position as well, something like 1 hour later I got the offer for CIFS. This really surprised me because I am not used to the luxury of choice.“

Again, coincidences and gut feelings tipped the scales for Luca:

“I ended up panicking and choosing CIFS, mostly because I didn’t know how to choose. The other place sounded very nice too. And so, I simply picked the organisation that came with the fastest offer. Probably not the smartest way to make a choice like that, but it worked out.”

 

Use your eyes and ears

Based on his experience in the Danish job market, Luca has 2 pieces of advice for other international students: