Module 1 · Get Your First Internship
Get Ready for an Internship
Understand what internships and SIWES placements are, what employers look for in students, and get your documents ready before you apply.
About 20 minutes
What an internship is
An internship is a short period of work (usually one to six months) where you learn on the job. Some are paid, some offer a stipend, and some are unpaid. They give you:
- Experience to put on your CV.
- References from people who've seen you work.
- A clearer idea of what you do (and don't) want to do after school.
- Sometimes, a job offer when you graduate.
SIWES and IT placements
Many Nigerian university and polytechnic programmes require SIWES (Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme), run with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF). If your course requires it:
- Your SIWES coordinator gives you a placement letter and a logbook. Ask early.
- You usually have to find the organisation. Start looking at least two to three months before your placement begins.
- Fill in your logbook every day or week with what you did. It's assessed.
- Choose a placement where you'll do real work in your field, not just run errands.
Even if SIWES isn't required, the same approach works for any internship.
What employers look for in students
They don't expect experience. They look for:
| Quality | How to show it |
|---|---|
| Willingness to learn | Courses and badges you've completed on your own |
| Reliability | Class rep, club roles, volunteering, a part-time job |
| Communication | A clear CV, a polite, well-written email |
| Basic tools | Excel, Google Workspace, Canva, or whatever your field uses |
| Evidence | Projects in a portfolio or on GitHub |
Get your documents ready
Before you apply anywhere, have these ready in one Drive folder:
- CV: one page, tailored to internships (see the Career Essentials course).
- Cover letter template you can adapt quickly.
- LinkedIn profile with a photo and headline.
- Portfolio link, even with one or two projects.
- Documents schools and employers often ask for: student ID, school letter, transcript or result slip, and passport photo.
Try it
Practice
Which organisation runs SIWES together with universities and polytechnics? Give its short name.
Task
10 minWrite your internship plan, one item per line: Dates: (when it should start and end), Where: (three kinds of organisation where you'd learn something useful in your field), Folder: (what's in your Internship folder now), and Skill: (one skill you'll build before applying, and how).
Your work is checked for
- Dates: with a month or year
- Where: with at least three kinds of organisation
- Folder: lists your documents (CV, cover letter, ID, letter, transcript…)
- Skill: names a skill and how you'll build it (course, practise, project…)
Earn your badge
Take the module check
Questions on this module. Pass and you earn the Internship Prep badge, free.
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