Why was my application for an internship rejected? what went wrong with me?
Does it sound like you? Do you too find yourself ruminating on this idea? If you are reading this, it is likely that you have already experienced your first professional setback—a rejection that resulted in one of your application statuses on Internshala displaying as “Not Selected.” You could be feeling perplexed by the whole procedure or even second-guessing your decision to apply for a new internship. But don’t worry; we are here to assist. Here are the top 4 errors that candidates often make that result in the employer rejecting their application, along with suggestions on how to correct them.
- What makes you a good candidate for this internship?
This is a required question that you must respond to for each internship when you have been asked while interviewing. It is an important part of your application where you must prove your qualifications to the employer. Make sure you avoid making the following two mistakes:
A badly written response that is riddled with grammar and spelling problems, incorrect capitalization, and usage of SMS-style jargon irritates employers the most. They see it as disrespectful at best and reckless at worst. You may check out English with Internshala, a collection of videos and tests designed to help students develop their communication and grammar abilities.
Advice: Use Grammarly to proofread your writing for grammatical problems before submitting your application. Additionally, you may learn about the most typical grammar errors that students make while applying for internships.
b) Copying and pasting a general response from the internet: You may have saved some time by doing this, but it had little or no influence. Also, keep in mind that if you can Google the question, the employer can Google your response.
Advice – Always compose your own response and tailor it to each internship you apply for in line with the job description. Discuss how your educational background, prior experiences (if any), notable achievements, and involvement in extracurricular activities relate to the duties you will be responsible for during the internship. See this example of a “Why should you be employed” response. Read this article and this one to have a better understanding of how to create a powerful cover letter.
- Is your profile distinctive?
Showing the employer what you can provide is the easiest method to make your profile stand out. Mention some details about yourself. The majority of employers favour applicants who have shown comparable work in the field of internship in the past. The more projects you’ve completed and internships you’ve completed, the better. Your chances of being shortlisted increase since the company sees this information apart from your application. However, be careful to just provide relevant experiences; an employer doesn’t need to know which high school singing contest you took first place in. There are two key reasons an employer can reject a profile:
a) An incomplete profile: Many students start applying in a hurry without finishing their profiles. A profile that isn’t thorough won’t provide an employer the whole picture of your talents, which can hurt your prospects. Make sure to include links to all of the pertinent writing samples, published articles/stories, blog links, etc. if you’re applying for a content writing internship, for instance. You should also highlight any honours and accomplishments you may have had in the past in that industry. Similar to this, many students leave off their graduation information if they are still pursuing it, which causes a subsequent misunderstanding.
b) A poor profile: If you are not receiving any good responses even after taking care of the aforementioned issues, it’s possible that you didn’t stand out among the other candidates in some way. Finding an internship is a very difficult task. In order to give yourself an advantage when applying for internships, you could wish to boost your profile by enrolling in online trainings in your areas of interest to pick up useful skills and working on projects. We also advise you to start projects on your own or in collaboration with a professor in the topic you’re interested in learning more about.
Don’t stop after finishing a few courses or training sessions. You must demonstrate to the employer that you put the information to work in a real-world setting and created a unique product. Consider a college student who runs a blog or develops an app or website.
- Out-of-date contact information: Many students have a tendency to change their phone numbers, particularly when they go home for the summer or winter holidays. In case an employer chooses to approach you, you must make sure your contact information is current on your Internshala profile (you can do this under Edit Profile). Additionally, utilising the accounts you most likely started using in your early teens could seem a bit absurd to potential employers. For instance, employers could find a candidate with the email address “mr [email protected]” to be too juvenile. Don’t let negligence cost you your internship!
- Modifications to the company’s requirements: Besides the factors listed above, additional factors also have an impact on your applications. The company’s needs may alter from time to time, and they may decide on a candidate even before reviewing your application. You can’t always control these aspects of life; all you can do is strive to correct your errors and keep applying for internships. The most crucial aspect is that you must never give up. You become better with with each application you submit.
Hobbes, life is like geography, to use Calvin’s terms. There are high points of joy and achievement, flat stretches of dull regularity, and valleys of disappointment and failure.
If you are still looking for more career advice, click here.
