Throughout your time at LSE the talk of internships is likely to arise. In such a finance, banking, and consultancy heavy environment, this blog will give you some advice on finding the right internship for you.

As a geography student, it’s natural that I haven’t gravitated towards careers in banking and finance, despite that being a commonality throughout LSE social circles. I have been really interested in the public sector, looking at work in NGOs, charities, and the government, but I have struggled to find experience or opportunities for internships in the same way that JP Morgan or PwC offer.

This summer I have been offered an internship at a small London based charity called Sounddelivery Media, working on increasing the voices of marginalised people and shining a spotlight on issues that need it most. You may be wondering how I got this offer, which I will explore with you now.

The LSE Careers service runs a “micro-internship” scheme each year designed to provide career opportunities to individuals with little or no formal work experience. You need to have completed less than 12 weeks (about 3 months) of work experience to be eligible and submit some short answers to two questions about why you want to work at the company or charity.

I was able to choose a maximum of two positions from the number that was listed before my application was sent to both organisations. After a few weeks of waiting, Sounddelivery Media contacted me to arrange an interview for the end of March and subsequently offered me the position of Team Assistant in early April.

The unique thing about this scheme is that without LSE funding the not-for-profit charities would otherwise be unable to hire interns, so this is a beneficial experience for both the organisation and the interns. For any of the internships that are listed you are paid the London Living Wage of £11.95 an hour up to 140 hours’ worth of work, so you get to earn a bit of money to spend over your summer break!

Without the help from LSE Careers, I would likely have had no opportunity to get any formal work experience in a sector I am passionate about, so I am very grateful that services like this exist. If you come to LSE, do utilise LSE Careers to their full potential, they always have a range of exciting opportunities to get you involved in and to boost your CV for your future career.

Although at first glance many internships or work experience opportunities may be in sectors you know you do not want to work in, keep looking and use the services you have available to you in order to find something fitted for your needs and career goals.