Want to Work with a Big Player? UNSW Can Make it Happen.

Internships are a key part in securing a sought-after role upon graduating. Just ask any graduate now working at a top-tier company. The opportunity to put knowledge and theory into practice, master the skills that can’t always be taught and start to build a professional network is how you guarantee career success after graduating.

So what do you need to know about internships? And how can you get big companies like Google to take notice of you?

Big Names Do Matter

Internships can sometimes help you land your future role. If you intern at a big-name company, there’s a good chance it’ll make a big difference when job-hunting. UNSW has connections and partnerships with huge industry players, including the Commonwealth Bank, NASA, Microsoft, the CSIRO and Google. As part of our focus on employability, we leverage our partnerships to help students gain on-the-job experience, mentoring and even jobs upon graduation.

When I graduated and was looking for a job, I had work that was live, out in the world, that I could point to and say ‘Yeah, I wrote that’!

Hannah Beder, UNSW Alumni

Now working at Creatable as a Creative Technologist, Hannah Beder completed two internships at Google while studying at UNSW that helped her work towards her future career.

“It’s very different to the way you learn and operate while studying. As a young person it can be hard to feel connected to your future. Seeing other engineers, especially women, around me was incredibly inspiring, and showed me what my career and work life could look like,” Hannah says.

Hannah’s internships at Google helped her define what she wanted her future career to look like. “Both of my internships helped me specify my skills. University is a great place to taste test different disciplines within your industry, but the specificity really came from the work experience.”

How do I Intern Somewhere like Google?

As part of UNSW’s Computer Science Engineering Society, Hannah took part in social networking events which were opportunities to connect with sponsors of the society. During her degree sponsors included Google, Microsoft, Atlassian and Canva. “It made life after uni feel a lot more accessible, as well as keeping students on top of potential internship opportunities,” Hannah explains.

Hannah’s internships required enterprise on her behalf to secure but her degree incorporated skills and practice that she was able use. “Software Engineering internships often involve technical interviews; Computer Science Engineering courses are a great balance of conceptual and practical. Practical exams, though daunting at the time, also help you prepare for the hiring process”. After applying she went through some virtual technical interviews and was accepted into the program.

Get Employers’ Attention with a World-Class Internship

With an internship at Google, Hannah got noticed by her peers and prospective employers working for such a big name that stretches across industries. “People immediately understood it as an achievement,” Hannah explained.

Hannah performed so well she was invited back the following year to intern again, this time in the USA. She says her experience with Google couldn’t have been better.

“They were incredibly supportive and helped me to secure a role in Seattle. Now I understand that companies often want to engage with students and young people as early as possible.”

After two internships at one of the largest companies in the world, what did Hannah learn? "My internship at Google taught me that you really can do anything. It was a true embodiment of everything I never thought I could do - working for one of the biggest leaders in the technology industry.”

Through her interning experience Hannah proved to herself that she could work for one of the world’s top companies, and she proved it to future employers as well. With hard work, dedication and a world-class internship, Hannah entered the workforce with an impressive CV and real-world experience to set herself up for success.

Find out how you can make the most of UNSW's career-readiness resources today.