IELTS LISTENING – HOW TO APPLY FOR AN INTERNSHIP S52T3

PROFESSOR: Was there any reason for that?

DIANA: Yeah, they didn’t offer the best conditions some of the other companies were offering to cover transportation and other living costs that kind of thing. But I knew gregory associates was a _Q21 widely recognized leader in the industry, and that was the big factor for me.

PROFESSOR: And were you happy with your choice?

DIANA: Well yes and no.

PROFESSOR: Mixed feelings?

DIANA: Yeah, I mean don’t get me wrong everyone in the office was great, they didn’t talk down to me and they were always happy to assist if I wasn’t sure about something.

PROFESSOR: Was it the work then, some students do find internships a little tedious and boring.

DIANA: It’s not that it was boring, I was doing new things every day and i loved that. They really kept me on my toes, it’s just that i’m studying economics you know, but most of the projects I was assigned to involved more administrative stuff _Q22 it just wasn’t relevant to what i’ve been studying.

PROFESSOR: I’m sorry to hear that, i’ll make a note of it. Let’s talk about the good things, what did you particularly enjoy about the experience?

DIANA: Well as an intern the managers do tend to keep you at arm’s length, they just don’t trust you enough to let you take on a lot of responsibility for the big projects.

PROFESSOR: That’s understandable.

DIANA: Yes, but in a way i liked that, because i got to stand back and watch and get a real sense of how a _Q23 company like that runs on a day-to-day basis, and that was the highlight for me.

PROFESSOR: That’s great to hear. How did you find managing the internship alongside your study commitments.

DIANA: Well because my internship was over the summer break that wasn’t an issue for me at all.

PROFESSOR: Okay. What would you say was the biggest struggle then?

DIANA: In the beginning I might have said the hours, those 6 a.m starts were tough but i quickly got used to that in retrospect the biggest difficulty was getting by on such a _Q24 tight budget, as I wasn’t earning anything the whole experience really drained my savings account.

PROFESSOR: Yeah that can be tough, and my last question. What was the outcome of this internship for you? Some of our students are lucky enough to get offers of employment before finishing.

DIANA: At first I was hoping I would be one of them in the end I wasn’t, but i’m happy about that now.

PROFESSOR: Why is that?

DIANA: Well over the course of the internship I ended up reconsidering whether this industry is really for me after all. I’m going to finish my degree because I’m only a semester away from graduation now. But then after that _Q25 i’ve decided to pursue a different line of work.

PROFESSOR: Well i do hope you’re successful with that.

PROFESSOR: Now we’re putting together a step-by-step guide about the process for students who want to apply for internships and we were wondering if you could help us with it.

DIANA: Sure.

PROFESSOR: What would you say is the first step?

DIANA: Before they do anything else students need to get their _Q26 documents sorted, companies need to see all sorts of things such as reference letters and verified copies of academic transcripts. It can take time to get it all together so applicants need to get onto this as soon as possible.

PROFESSOR: Great, we’ll put that down as number one and then students should begin researching companies.

DIANA: Absolutely, they should look at a wide range of companies and the internships they offer they really shouldn’t limit themselves at that stage.

PROFESSOR: It would be time consuming to apply to them all though.

DIANA: Yeah so i think they need to weed out those positions they are not qualified for, or that don’t meet their own needs and interests and then put together a _Q27 shortlist consisting only of those positions that are a good match.

PROFESSOR: And then?

DIANA: Well the next part is the applications of course, I think the big mistake here is that some students just send the same cover letter and the same cv to each company when in reality every position is a little bit different. They really need to alter/ _Q28 tailor their applications so that they refer to the individual needs of each position.

PROFESSOR: I’ll make a note of that. And should students follow up on their applications?

DIANA: I think so, it’s best to _Q29 call each company an email is too easy to ignore or delete and not too soon either a week after the applications have been submitted is probably ideal.

PROFESSOR: So if they get an interview what’s next?

DIANA: Obviously they need to prepare for me this included all sorts of things, like practicing my body language in front of the mirror and researching common interview questions online.

PROFESSOR: Any tips for the interview itself.

DIANA: Most students are so obsessed with having the right answers, but i think the most important thing is actually to _Q30 ask questions. It shows the employer that you are genuinely interested in their company and in the position.

PROFESSOR: That’s really helpful advice. Thanks for coming by today.

DIANA: No problem.