Get Ready for an Internship

Understand what internships and SIWES placements are, what employers look for in students, and get your documents ready before you apply.

About 20 minutes

What an internship is

An internship is a short period of work (usually one to six months) where you learn on the job. Some are paid, some offer a stipend, and some are unpaid. They give you:

Experience to put on your CV.
References from people who've seen you work.
A clearer idea of what you do (and don't) want to do after school.
Sometimes, a job offer when you graduate.

SIWES and IT placements

Many Nigerian university and polytechnic programmes require SIWES (Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme), run with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF). If your course requires it:

Your SIWES coordinator gives you a placement letter and a logbook. Ask early.
You usually have to find the organisation. Start looking at least two to three months before your placement begins.
Fill in your logbook every day or week with what you did. It's assessed.
Choose a placement where you'll do real work in your field, not just run errands.

Even if SIWES isn't required, the same approach works for any internship.

What employers look for in students

They don't expect experience. They look for:

Quality	How to show it
Willingness to learn	Courses and badges you've completed on your own
Reliability	Class rep, club roles, volunteering, a part-time job
Communication	A clear CV, a polite, well-written email
Basic tools	Excel, Google Workspace, Canva, or whatever your field uses
Evidence	Projects in a portfolio or on GitHub

Get your documents ready

Before you apply anywhere, have these ready in one Drive folder:

CV: one page, tailored to internships (see the Career Essentials course).
Cover letter template you can adapt quickly.
LinkedIn profile with a photo and headline.
Portfolio link, even with one or two projects.
Documents schools and employers often ask for: student ID, school letter, transcript or result slip, and passport photo.

Try it

Write down the dates your internship or SIWES should start and end.
List three kinds of organisations where you'd learn something useful in your field.
Create an "Internship" folder in Drive with your CV, a cover letter draft and scans of your documents.
Add one skill you'll build before you apply, and pick a course to build it.

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What an internship is

An internship is a short period of work (usually one to six months) where you learn on the job. Some are paid, some offer a stipend, and some are unpaid. They give you:

Experience to put on your CV.

References from people who've seen you work.

A clearer idea of what you do (and don't) want to do after school.

Sometimes, a job offer when you graduate.

SIWES and IT placements

Many Nigerian university and polytechnic programmes require SIWES (Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme), run with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF). If your course requires it:

Your SIWES coordinator gives you a placement letter and a logbook. Ask early.

You usually have to find the organisation. Start looking at least two to three months before your placement begins.

Fill in your logbook every day or week with what you did. It's assessed.

Choose a placement where you'll do real work in your field, not just run errands.

Even if SIWES isn't required, the same approach works for any internship.

What employers look for in students

They don't expect experience. They look for:

Quality	How to show it
Willingness to learn	Courses and badges you've completed on your own
Reliability	Class rep, club roles, volunteering, a part-time job
Communication	A clear CV, a polite, well-written email
Basic tools	Excel, Google Workspace, Canva, or whatever your field uses
Evidence	Projects in a portfolio or on GitHub

Get your documents ready

Before you apply anywhere, have these ready in one Drive folder:

CV: one page, tailored to internships (see the Career Essentials course).

Cover letter template you can adapt quickly.

LinkedIn profile with a photo and headline.

Portfolio link, even with one or two projects.

Documents schools and employers often ask for: student ID, school letter, transcript or result slip, and passport photo.

Try it

Write down the dates your internship or SIWES should start and end.

List three kinds of organisations where you'd learn something useful in your field.

Create an "Internship" folder in Drive with your CV, a cover letter draft and scans of your documents.

Add one skill you'll build before you apply, and pick a course to build it.