Internship alternatives

Get a retail, sales, bar or hospitality job: Build customer service and client support skills, both of which are valued by employers and can be difficult to develop from your degree alone. You can often find this type of work close to where you plan to live during the summer break. You could also think about working at an event or festival – you may even get a ticket as well as getting paid.  Check out the part-time working webpage for starting points.  

Volunteer: Volunteering is a great way to build communication, adaptability and teamworking skills while making a positive contribution. Visit our volunteering webpage for a full range of websites or the National Council for Voluntary Organisations for a list of volunteering hubs.

Arrange your own work experience: Many smaller companies do not advertise internships but may still be open to taking students on. Consider making a speculative approach using the guidance offered on our speculative applications pages.

Work on a personal project: Whether you love designing apps, building engineering marvels, researching a topic you can’t stop thinking about, or creating something new, personal projects are a great way to develop your skills. They can also can be added to CVs, just like any other projects.

Travelling: Many students enjoy the opportunity to go abroad during their summer break to experience different countries and cultures. You could tie this in with a job or volunteering opportunity such as Camp America, or keep it recreational.  

Get involved (or plan to get involved) in a competition: Many organisations and institutions run competitions at various points throughout the year, including over the  summer. Visit the careers competition page for ideas or try a general internet search for competitions related to your interests.

Student Shaper projects: Supporting an Imperial staff member in exploring a specific area of their work (usually non-research focused) is a great way to understand how universities operate and earn money while doing it. Some projects are available during term time, while others run over holiday periods. Visit the Student Shapers website for more information.

Support a local school or community organisation: If you’re heading home for summer, consider offering your time to a local school, community group, or religious organisation and see if you can help them in any way. Often organising committees are looking for volunteers to help organise events and support activities. It’s also a great opportunity to build your network by meeting people with a wide range of careers and experiences.

Free for you as an Imperial student:

• Attributes and Aspirations is an e-learning resource developed specifically for Imperial students. It covers many transferable skills including time management, working in teams well and improving your grades. Visit the skills map to guide your learning.
• LinkedIn Learning is huge e-learning hub offering training on many things, from technical skills through to communication skills.  You have free access as an Imperial student
• The Career Companion offers quick activities that fit in around your other summer plans and can support the development ofhelp you develop your career thinking.
• Bloomberg Terminal is an e-learning platform which Imperial students get some access to for free. These courses can give you an insight into the skills required for careers in finance.
• BlackBullion iis an online financial education platform that can help you build your confidence with money, from budgeting through to investing. You have free access as an Imperial student.
• A range of free online courses are available through platforms such as Coursera and edX. Focus on what you learn rather than earning a certificate; employers are most interested in the skills and knowledge you’ve developed. 
• Shortlist.Me has a range of short job simulations to help you explore different industries and specific roles. They also have nearly 100 practice interviews, including ones for part-time work, postgraduate study and more general skills based interviews to help you get a head start for your next recruitment cycle.

Other platforms

• Forage hosts a range of job simulations that help you to better understand a range of careers. Register and explore.

• OpenLearn from the Open University have a range of free online courses at various levels that you can filter by topic and time to complete.
• MIT OpenCourseWare offers elements of MIT courses online covering a range of STEM related subjects.
• Alison has a broad range of courses covering languages, business, marketing and health and all are free.
• Free Code Camp offers free project based learning in coding and data science.
• Code Academy offers some free courses for beginners. Be aware that many of their advanced courses are via a subscription and you maybe able to find similar content on other free websites.
• Large tech companies like Google (Google Digital Garage) and Microsoft (Microsoft Learn) often have online training platforms. These do cover broader topics than just their products and can be interesting to explore. Many major banks like Barclays (Barclays Digital Wings) and Lloyds (Lloyds Bank Academy) also offer free online learning on a range of topics.

• Kick start your career planning by exploring the Career planning section. Great ideas of where to start are in our Undergraduate, Masters or PhD career journeys.  
• Begin to understand your motivation (helpful when writing answers to ‘why you want to do this job?’ or ‘why do you want to work for this company?’ by doing the Values worksheet.
• Research what careers are out there using a structured approach by finding starting points on our exploring options webpage.
• Try a range of short, interactive careers activities on The Career Companion.
• Get ready for next years applications by exploring websites where you can find jobs in our What can I do with my degree? pages. Find your subject page, or the subject area you are interested in working in then click on the industry tab for a range of resources.
• Set up your system for applications. Structure spreadsheets to track your applications, set up alerts on jobs boards to save you time and create a dedicated folder to keep everything in one place on your computer.
•  Got a question for one of our Alumni? Ask them via the Ask an Alum portal.
• Build your networking skills by completing the Building Relationships unit in the Skill Development module in the Attributes and Aspirations online learning platform.
• Get your CV in order. Start with a skill audit and then use the CV and Resumes webpage for initial ideas. Using the above tips to understand what skills you’ll need in the roles you’re interested in.
• Book an appointment to chat to a careers consultant, get your CV checked or discuss your plan over summer, when appointments are easier to get.
• Get a head start on topics like preparing for interviews, assessment centres and using LinkedIn by attending Careers Essentials sessions which are running over summer.
• Interested in being an entrepreneur or starting your own business? Explore what the Imperial Enterprise Lab has on offer and build some networking, training events or competitions into your plan for next year. 
• Try some online job simulations to help you better understand what different roles and industries might be like. Forage, SpringPod and Shortlist.Me all have experiences for you to try.