Internships

jjjnnn2004

I just finished 2nd year of Accounting BSC.

I’m interested in finding an internship or worst case scenario volunteering.

I have made a CV but was wondering if I need to make a Cover Letter as well?

Will they ask for it, I know it will be useful but I was just wondering

Reply 1

HoldThisL

Cover letters are still somewhat relevant. You can start with a template that explains you and your motives and then has blank sections for your fit for the position. Cover letters don't need to be exhaustive and in many cases they are ignored

Keep in mind that internships are very competitive and at this point in your 2nd year, most places will have already been assigned/taken up. The time to start applying for internships is usually 9 months ago. Also, being interested in finding an internship is only a precursor to what you actually want to apply for. You'll need to have a firmer idea of your skills and motivations in order to actually secure a particular one

Reply 2

jjjnnn2004

Original post

by HoldThisL

Cover letters are still somewhat relevant. You can start with a template that explains you and your motives and then has blank sections for your fit for the position. Cover letters don't need to be exhaustive and in many cases they are ignored
Keep in mind that internships are very competitive and at this point in your 2nd year, most places will have already been assigned/taken up. The time to start applying for internships is usually 9 months ago. Also, being interested in finding an internship is only a precursor to what you actually want to apply for. You'll need to have a firmer idea of your skills and motivations in order to actually secure a particular one

Appreciate the reply.

I was told by the careers advisor that it is useful having a cover letter so is worth making one just to stand out a slight bit.

For me looking for an internship is useless?

Or do I need to wait until September?

I haven’t really decided what I want to do in my career but for the last 9 months I have been interested in tax, something that I enjoy even though that was my lowest grade for second semester of 67 overall. I am still open to other parts of accounting but definitely sure about it.

What do you think I should do?

Reply 3

KiDAsia

Original post

by jjjnnn2004

I just finished 2nd year of Accounting BSC.
I’m interested in finding an internship or worst case scenario volunteering.
I have made a CV but was wondering if I need to make a Cover Letter as well?
Will they ask for it, I know it will be useful but I was just wondering

Hey, I'm first year econ and finance student with 2 internships this summer so speaking from personal experience. A lot of it is luck and cover letters definitely help as it is an opportunity to highlight your skills and differentiate yourself. Emphasis on the luck part as I started looking couple months ago and there were opportunities that may not all be accounting but could be related, and I just tailored my CV and cover letter to be unique and compliant with screening and I fortunately got these opportunities. Keep looking and something will be out there as long as you are persistent and constantly up-skill yourself - don't expect much if you haven't committed to doing things outside your degree to increase your value or don't spend time applying and looking/networking.

Reply 4

jjjnnn2004

Original post

by KiDAsia

Thanks for your reply.

I was recently talking to a friend about how I haven’t had any recent work experience related to my field. The last relevant experience I had was back in October 2023. To show that I’ve remained active, I mentioned my role as a group leader for a university presentation which was at January 2025

He advise me that doing an online internship could help demonstrate continued engagement in the field. Since my field is accounting, I’m not sure how feasible that is. The best alternative I can think of is completing an Excel course—it’s not exactly work experience, but it’s still relevant and valuable.

Do you have any advice on this?

Reply 5

KiDAsia

Original post

by jjjnnn2004

Thanks for your reply.
I was recently talking to a friend about how I haven’t had any recent work experience related to my field. The last relevant experience I had was back in October 2023. To show that I’ve remained active, I mentioned my role as a group leader for a university presentation which was at January 2025
He advise me that doing an online internship could help demonstrate continued engagement in the field. Since my field is accounting, I’m not sure how feasible that is. The best alternative I can think of is completing an Excel course—it’s not exactly work experience, but it’s still relevant and valuable.
Do you have any advice on this?

That’s spot on. Any sort of learning to show you are up-stilling yourself is perfect, I’d try to avoid keeping yourself to accounting or accounting related stuff strictly. Remember they aren’t looking for people who can do the job only - they are looking for people who can format their CV to increase it chances of passing screening so a human can see it, and for that human to be able to interact with you and question your experiences and for you to be authentic, approachable and show some uniqueness. There’s thousands of people who can do the job but not much who can show that they have the value of the companies during the interview and assessment stages