I think it’s important to premise this article with a confession, and that is that I am in no way incredible intelligent. I’ve had to do a number of re-sits throughout my education, I’ve never been awarded an A or A* in any pre-university exam and I’ve never been particularly commended for my academic work. Despite this, my academic C.V is far and above the best I have seen; my reference list includes a senior academic at Cambridge University, a similarly ranked academic researcher at St Andrews University and finally the Godfather of Working Memory, Prof. Alan Baddeley. In addition to meeting a whole host of academic royalty along the way, I also have a number of pending publications a handful of authorships in print and a number of acknowledgements. This article is product of 4 years of trial and error and will act as a guide for getting the best possible C.V, because it is written from the perspective of a psychologist the internships are primarily within psychological departments, however the procedure in acquiring these placements is applicable in most scientific domains.

Before getting into how to get experience there are a couple of important points that postgraduate administrators and employers look for in a C.V that will improve your chances of success.

The first things that is evident when looking at a C.V is blank spaces, in other words you work one vacation, do nothing the following year and then work the vacation after that. Alternatively getting one great placement early on and then not doing anything in subsequent years appears equally as unappealing. These blanks will inevitably draw attention away from the good aspects on your C.V and instead prompt questions about why you didn’t do anything during one particular summer. Obviously when sitting in an interview room being questioned on why you haven’t done more often causes you to come across as lethargic and lazy and therefore you wont get you very far.

The second common mistake made in C.V’s is not having a variety of placements. Interning at the same department and with the same supervisors can be beneficial as it demonstrates that the people want you back and also increase the chances of publication and employment afterwards. However, it will broaden your range of expertise and appear more impressive if you have done a number of different internships at a variety of locations.

What and Where

In terms of getting experience the first thing you should do is e-mail lecturers, members of the research staff and the heads of department. To begin with try not to be overly picky in the area of research that you apply to, for example, despite my main interests being focused on psychology the first time I applied I sent e-mails to the Neuroscience, biological science and medical department, as well as the department of Psychology. In later years after getting a few years of experience you can specialise to an area more specific to your interests.

The best place to start doing this is the university you are attending, this will allow you to build up familiarity with lecturers and get your name known around the department, an asset that will help you a lot in your final years. In addition this, having your first experience at the university you’re currently attending allows you to get use to doing research in a town that you are familiar with. This is important to note, as a majority of summer internships will be unpaid or extremely underpaid (Because you’re not officially “working” and instead are “Interning” the laws of minimum wage do not apply. Interns often receive a departmental Stipend, a form of salary that does not reflect the hours that you work and instead acts as a living allowance). The reason it would be beneficial to do the first placement at your current university is that you may be able to sign a 12 month lease and live in the same property over the summer and then throughout your following year, alternatively if you have lived in a town for a year you will be aware of cheaper places to live for a few months that summer.

An alternative to interning at your current university is to apply to a university closer to your hometown, and therefore allow you to live rent-free, therefore reducing the damage that a limited salary would do to your student loan. I was very fortunate in this respect; the only completely unpaid internship that I undertook was at Cambridge University, the town where I grew up. I would recommend working at both the university you’re studying at and the one closest to your family home, thus providing a variety of locations and institutions in your C.V.

After a few summers of interning you need to start branching out and think about working for specific people as opposed to easily accessible locations.If, for example, you are interested specifically in Autism, instead of going to intern at a top university you need to look for a current pioneer in Autistic research, e.g Prof. Baron-Cohen. It is always worth sending out applications to as many people as possible, during my initial application phase I didn’t get any reply from vast majority (about 80%) of my e-mails, I got about dozen rejections and only a handful of acceptances.

How and When

The best way to find out what current research is being performed at your university and who is doing it, is to go to your universities web page and look under a specific department e.g. “Psychology”, and then within the department website look for a staff list, this should tell you a bit about each researcher, their interests and current projects, as well as their e-mail addresses. This is all the information you will need to get an internship, if the area that a specific researcher is investigating interests you, make sure to mention it within the initial e-mail. (If you are so inclined you can also look at a researchers specific interests and write your e-mail as if that subject fascinates you, even if it doesn’t.)

Below is the template of the first e-mail that I sent to the research staff, lecturers and the Head of Psychology at St Andrews University:

Hello Dr./Prof. X.

My name is Albert Aspinall; I’m a first year Neuroscience undergraduate at the University of St Andrews. I was wondering if you had any available opportunities as a research assistant in your lab for a few weeks over the summer? My lab based experience is currently quite limited, but any opportunities you could offer me would be greatly appreciated.

If you receive an acceptance reply it will usually contain the sentence “we currently have limited funds for studentships, would you be willing to work without a salary?”. If you are still able to accept an unpaid internship it is important to establish that you wish to receive some form of non-monetary “payment” for your work. In response to a comment like this I would write:

Hello Dr./Prof. X

Thank you for your quick reply, Yes, I would still be very interested in working with you. In the absence of a salary would I receive any training or an acknowledgement of my work in any corresponding publications?”

In this way you establish that you are willing to work without pay, but that you want your name to appear on resulting publications, thus strengthening any future applications. If they say they are unable to acknowledge you for your work you need to think about whether it is worth working for free in a department that wont grant you any acknowledgement of work against having that university and a reference from the academics on your C.V. In my opinion I would only accept an unpaid, unacknowledged job from one of the top 5 universities or from a world famous academic.

In those cases when you receive a rejection e-mail, ALWAYS reply, even if it’s just to say thank you. Below is the transcripts from an e-mail conversation I had with a head of psychology at one of the top 5 universities demonstrating why this is important:

First Reply:

Hello Albert,

Thank you for your e-mail enquiring about internships at X University. Unfortunately we do not have any suitable positions at the moment.

Prof. X.

My reply:

Hello Prof. X,

Thank you for your quick reply. Should the situation change please bare me in mind.

2 Months Later I receive this e-mail:

Hello Albert,

I am currently looking for a intern to replace a student who dropped out, please re-submit your application for consideration.

Regards

Prof. X.

After getting a few placements make sure to update your application e-mail with details of your previous experience, however make sure you keep it brief. Do not write everything you did and how you found the experience, this is for your cover letter or personal statement, not a C.V. Below is the application e-mail that I send out to prospective employers

In terms of “When” the best time to apply is, a common mistake is writing e-mails either too soon to the time when you intend to start or in the post-exam period. Late applications will very rarely be successful, and post-exam lulls are often lecturers busiest times and therefore they will be unlikely to respond to e-mails about work.

From my experience, the best time to apply for summer work is in the previous November; during this time there is often a drop in research following the summer push for publications and grant applications. Alternatively applying in late February or early March after the Christmas exam rush can prove quite successful.

In summary:

Apply early and don’t be too picky if your previous experience is limited.

Always reply to any e-mail you get, even if it’s a rejection or you’ve accepted another place somewhere else.

Keep your e-mails brief, do not go into detail about your duties or how you found the experience, just state when and where you worked and who you worked with.

Try and tailor each e-mail to the individual you are applying to.

Do not get depressed by rejections, they’re going to happen….a lot.

Good luck.