What is the Internship Formula?
I was looking at Dr. Paul Redmond’s Graduate Job Formula and started analysing it. After a while, I thought it is debatable, and then set about plotting how I got my internship and subsequent job after graduation. I realised the key in this market is doing an internship. Anyway, this post is part 1 of 2 in my proposal of an Alternate Graduate Job Formula. Part 1 is getting an internship, and the formula to do this. This post also deals with the mathematics of assuming you have “contacts” in an organisation and what your success chances with them are.
To read further, download this pdf version with equations and explanation in it. Sorry I couldn’t post it as a blog as the equations wouldn’t be ready to be written in the blog post. Click on the plus sign {filelink=6} .
Basic Internship Formula
WE = D x Y x APro
where ,
WE – work experience / internship
Y – year of study (secret matter)
APro – Asset Promotion (Promoting yourself, you are the asset)
where,
APro = (CV Presentation) + (Applications/week) + (Project adoption) + (Patience)
So, to be successful at an internship opportunity you need to be of a relevant degree, match the requisite of the employers’ year of study requirement and have the skills to promote yourself. For more detailed assessment, please download the 2 page pdf copy.
Does having contacts work in getting a job/internship?
It is a personal choice to bank on “contacts” and it is absolutely not true that “you will get an internship” if you have “contacts”. In fact, it is mathematically questionable how you’d have more chances of getting an internship with a “contact”. It might be statistically proven that students get internships easier with “contacts”, but the student will have applied to other internships as well, so there is a statistic within a statistic that you first have to apply without contacts, to at least know where you stand.
To summarise, I don’t believe you can have a successful internship , just because you found it through “contacts”. Mathematically, there is less chance of you getting an internship with the knowledge that you have a “contact” in an organization.
Feel free to comment, critique, or amend the equation. A note in the comment would be good to keep track.
The majority of people I have talked to who have internships or jobs in my field (biotechnology) got them through contacts. Not having contacts doesn’t mean you won’t get a job but having them does seem to increase chances. People are more likely to hire someone they know.