Picture me at the start of my second year at university. I am beginning to consider my route forwards once my studies conclude and I figure that a summer internship is a fantastic way to get my foot in the door. Looking at the usual job boards, there are a few big companies beginning to advertise roles. I don't feel an urgent need to send out applications yet but I begin drafting a few applications and sending them off.

Unsurprisingly, my first few attempts fell flat since they were not yet up to par. However, as time went on, I consulted more senior advisors and application deadlines came and went. Some applications were more successful than others, but not one of my 50 applications resulted in an offer.

Throughout this process, the struggle to stand out led me to pursue many extra-curricular projects, StartupGradJobs being the main one and what I believe to be the most important reason for my success at the 51st try. Alongside this role, I had attended insight days and unpaid work experience wherever possible, yet this was still only the second interview I landed.

The amount of applications for internships on big job boards was regularly in the thousands, so without devoting myself to these activities to make my application stand out I doubt that I would have been successful. This ratio of applicants to roles meant that it was difficult to get any proper consideration from most companies, with generic emails about not being able to provide feedback due to the number of applicants being common. This added to the frustration as there was rarely a way to know how to improve.

It is essential that this application process is improved by increasing engagement from companies to hire junior staff, as well as creating better platforms to connect with companies and talk to a human, rather than a bot. The pool of talent eager to land a role is enourmous and I am sure that some of the most promising juniors are overlooked simply because of the volume of applicants.

I believe that StartupGradJobs can help tackle this issue by providing a platform tailored specifically to these companies which are human-oriented and have goals people can get behind, creating a better application process for the next generation and offering companies the brightest minds to grow their company into the future.

Photo by Christian Erfurt on Unsplash