Finding the right internship

Approaching her 9th semester internship, Sabrina thought about what she hoped for in her internship:

“I wanted the internship to complement my studies, which were sometimes very research-oriented, and to gain an insight into the practical problems and challenges of an industrial company.”

However, she couldn't find any job offers that matched her desired field of work in Aalborg.

LinkedIn, career guidance and the interview

She found her internship on LinkedIn, where it was advertised more than half a year before start. She created a basic CV, which she targeted for the different internships she applied for. To make sure she had done her very best, she also took the opportunity to have her CV reviewed and get feedback from the career counsellors at AAU.

Sabrina then uploaded her application, and things went well:

“I applied through the company's application platform and was then invited for an interview, which was fortunately online so I didn't have to travel several hours. The interview was with the team leader."

“Besides the typical interview questions, we mainly focused on talking about expectations from both sides. I also explained the problem based learning principle at AAU and we agreed on a rough topic for my project during the semester.”

The internship turned into a thesis collaboration and a job

“The internship fully met my expectations, as it gave me a valuable insight into how to approach and solve practical problems in a company, as well as into the general structure and work culture of a Danish company.”

The internship gave her the opportunity to organise a collaboration with the same company for her master’s thesis.

“During my internship I made contacts in the department and talked to different people about possible topics for my dissertation. This led to the possibility of a topic that met the expectations of the university as well as my interest and that of the company. It is important not to start this process too late, as the framework conditions need to be clarified, such as the signing of a non-disclosure agreement.”

This was also important for getting a job afterwards:

Personality and interest in the Danish mentality was crucial

Reflecting on the process and experiences she got along the way, Sabrina emphasises the importance of being dedicated to become part of the Danish culture:

“I think that I would not have been given the opportunity for a position after graduation if I did not fit into the team in terms of my personality. In my opinion, my efforts to understand the Danish mentality and learn the language are one of the reasons why I have been able to fit in so well in the department.”