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Finding an internship in the UK
Where can i look for internship offers ?
The online spaces are too fragmented, the websites are too specifics and the researches are never-ending...
Do you have some tips to help me to be more efficient or to find interesting offers quicker ?
Thank you !
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4 answers
Updated
Gemma’s Answer
Hi. I would recommend Graduate Jobs: https://www.graduate-jobs.com/internships , or Bright Network: https://www.brightnetwork.co.uk/internships/ . I found my graduate job after university through Bright Network. I am not sure what stage of education you are at, but you could also ask your university or college if they have any contacts with businesses that have supported other students in the past. Note that often big employers want you to apply quite early, sometimes the year before the start of the job, so do bear that in mind. Best of luck!
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Wes’s Answer
Not sure about the UK, but for me in the USA my college would have career fairs. Find roles and companies that are related to your field of study.
For example, my major was construction management. I sought out construction companies in my hometown and expressed interest. I ended up finding a summer internship (easier than winter to find) and hired on full time after my internship was done.
It is good to do in person meetings and more personal types of communication than emails and general applications. Also follow up with phone calls on any applications submitted, or interviews done. Find a company to seek out, vs letting them come to you. Showing enthusiasm in the field and having a strong desire to succeed will get your foot in the door. And don’t be disheartened if you don’t get your first try, especially if you are an underclassperson.
For example, my major was construction management. I sought out construction companies in my hometown and expressed interest. I ended up finding a summer internship (easier than winter to find) and hired on full time after my internship was done.
It is good to do in person meetings and more personal types of communication than emails and general applications. Also follow up with phone calls on any applications submitted, or interviews done. Find a company to seek out, vs letting them come to you. Showing enthusiasm in the field and having a strong desire to succeed will get your foot in the door. And don’t be disheartened if you don’t get your first try, especially if you are an underclassperson.
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
"An internship in the UK" is a very broad question. "internship" seems to mean different things to different people, and in fact, actually is a term I rarely hear in the UK - and we often use more specific terms depending what it is you're looking for - so it's no surprise you're finding the search to be challenging. You will have better luck narrowing your search terms to exactly what you are looking for, so have a think about the questions below.
Even once narrowed, however, we don't tend to have lists of opportunities all in one place - it often is a case of exploring individual company websites or reaching out to companies directly, so a fragmented search is to be expected. Anyway, some questions to think about:
What level or type of "internship" are you looking for? You'll find more information by searching for the narrower term.
- Year 10 Work Experience Placement: For Year 10 high school students, a very brief internship (a week or two), usually unpaid, intended to give an early impression of being in the workforce. Generally found very locally - reach out to local companies, or lists may be provided by your school or local authority
- Student Summer Placement
Many companies offer internships over the summer academic break, aimed at students - particularly undergraduates between second and third year, but may be suitable for students in any year. May be paid or unpaid. Sometimes placements for the winter break are also offered like this.
- Holiday Work
Aside from formal summer placements, many students look for part-time or seasonal work during the academic breaks. Retail, hospitality, and tourism often bring in a bunch of extra seasonal workers for their high demand periods in the summer and winter breaks. Generally not known as "internships", at all, but exist in a similar vein.
- Undergraduate Sandwich Year Placement
Some undergraduate courses have a Sandwich Year or Year in Industry, where you take a year out of your studies to work a placement for a year. This may be found by yourself, but may be organised by the university
- Gap Year Placement
Similar to a sandwich year, you may have opted to take a year-long break from studies, perhaps before going to uni or between undergraduate and postgrad courses, and may wish to find a work placement for the year. As this is not formally part of your course, universities generally won't be involved, but there are companies that help organise gap year placements.
- Volunteer Work:
Another situation I've heard "internship" used for is for unpaid work used to get a foot in the door. If that's not as part of a formal placement scheme, like a student placement, that sort of thing would usually come under the term Volunteer work.
- Graduate Programmes: I've also heard "internship" used to describe a pathway into work for fresh university graduates. We tend to call those "graduate programmes" or "graduate schemes" - generally a few years of well structured work and development opportunities where you may be moved around within a company to get a broad range of experience and find where you best fit in.
Whereabouts in the UK?
Some types of "internship" tend to be very local, others you might consider moving around the country. That can influence your strategy for finding placements - the more local you want to be, the more it revolves round approaching local companies directly, while if you're open to moving around, web searches are more appropriate. I see your location field says "London" - are you looking for something in a particular area of London? Are you looking across a wider area? Perhaps even the whole country?
What sort of role or industry?
Depending on what sort of job you're looking to find, the best routes can vary. Some industries have specific systems to encourage young people to find work and placements, and sites to collate opportunities.
Even once narrowed, however, we don't tend to have lists of opportunities all in one place - it often is a case of exploring individual company websites or reaching out to companies directly, so a fragmented search is to be expected. Anyway, some questions to think about:
What level or type of "internship" are you looking for? You'll find more information by searching for the narrower term.
- Year 10 Work Experience Placement: For Year 10 high school students, a very brief internship (a week or two), usually unpaid, intended to give an early impression of being in the workforce. Generally found very locally - reach out to local companies, or lists may be provided by your school or local authority
- Student Summer Placement
Many companies offer internships over the summer academic break, aimed at students - particularly undergraduates between second and third year, but may be suitable for students in any year. May be paid or unpaid. Sometimes placements for the winter break are also offered like this.
- Holiday Work
Aside from formal summer placements, many students look for part-time or seasonal work during the academic breaks. Retail, hospitality, and tourism often bring in a bunch of extra seasonal workers for their high demand periods in the summer and winter breaks. Generally not known as "internships", at all, but exist in a similar vein.
- Undergraduate Sandwich Year Placement
Some undergraduate courses have a Sandwich Year or Year in Industry, where you take a year out of your studies to work a placement for a year. This may be found by yourself, but may be organised by the university
- Gap Year Placement
Similar to a sandwich year, you may have opted to take a year-long break from studies, perhaps before going to uni or between undergraduate and postgrad courses, and may wish to find a work placement for the year. As this is not formally part of your course, universities generally won't be involved, but there are companies that help organise gap year placements.
- Volunteer Work:
Another situation I've heard "internship" used for is for unpaid work used to get a foot in the door. If that's not as part of a formal placement scheme, like a student placement, that sort of thing would usually come under the term Volunteer work.
- Graduate Programmes: I've also heard "internship" used to describe a pathway into work for fresh university graduates. We tend to call those "graduate programmes" or "graduate schemes" - generally a few years of well structured work and development opportunities where you may be moved around within a company to get a broad range of experience and find where you best fit in.
Whereabouts in the UK?
Some types of "internship" tend to be very local, others you might consider moving around the country. That can influence your strategy for finding placements - the more local you want to be, the more it revolves round approaching local companies directly, while if you're open to moving around, web searches are more appropriate. I see your location field says "London" - are you looking for something in a particular area of London? Are you looking across a wider area? Perhaps even the whole country?
What sort of role or industry?
Depending on what sort of job you're looking to find, the best routes can vary. Some industries have specific systems to encourage young people to find work and placements, and sites to collate opportunities.
Updated
Steve’s Answer
If someone’s struggling to find internships in the UK, it usually isn’t because opportunities don’t exist — it’s because everything is scattered across niche platforms, university portals, hidden company pages, and recruiter networks. That’s where tools built to simplify the process can actually make a big difference. With something like LockedIn AI and its Auto Job Apply Tool, candidates can speed up the hunt by automatically scanning openings, matching their profile to relevant roles, and applying across multiple platforms without spending hours on repetitive searches.
It cuts through fragmented job boards, reduces manual effort, and helps you focus only on the internships that truly fit your skills. Pair that with LinkedIn alerts, company career pages, and university career services, and the whole process becomes much more efficient. The goal is to spend less time searching and more time landing interviews — the part that actually moves your career forward.
It cuts through fragmented job boards, reduces manual effort, and helps you focus only on the internships that truly fit your skills. Pair that with LinkedIn alerts, company career pages, and university career services, and the whole process becomes much more efficient. The goal is to spend less time searching and more time landing interviews — the part that actually moves your career forward.