Start looking for internships as soon as possible - especially when cold emailing because the sooner you contact people, the more likely they are to be able to help.

A good estimate is 9-10 months before your desired start date.

Yesterday.

(kidding)

Many applications require similar documents - a CV, a reference, a transcript of grades and a ‘personal statement’ paragraph.

In order to lighten the workload, you can prepare the majority of these in advance (except the reference and transcript) and build on them if you have new experiences to add before sending off your application.

When deciding dates and time periods for an internship try to remain flexible with dates - this is another reason why it is important to start reaching out early!

Having a clearly blocked out period which allows your potential employer to choose a time that works best for them shows commitment.

You should aim to submit your most up-to-date transcript at the time of your application.

However, if you are not confident in your most recent exam and it may lower your average, you can submit the version of your transcript that does not include this grade

UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED

You can select to either have your official transcript sent directly to a third party (wherever you’re applying) or sent to you. Opt to send it to yourself, so you can reuse it for several internship applications.

HOWEVER - you are only entitled to ONE free e-transcript per year, after this you will have to pay for any additional copies. So choose wisely when you order your transcript.

You order it from the UCL e-transcripts online store at the link below

Check out our Building a Killer CV and Cold Emailing pages for guidance on this.

Available at the links below

Make sure you understand the overarching themes of their research, and that you have reminded yourself of your past experience if you have any.

Mostly, they just want to see how enthusiastic you are!

Many of the people you will be contacted by receive hundreds of emails a day, don’t expect a reply immediately.

If you have not received any reply to your initial cold email, send a follow-up no less than 10 days later.

If you received a reply saying they would look into it and get back to you but you then never heard back, send a follow-up 5-7 days later.

Never send two follow-up emails unless you have had a consistent email exchange and suddenly have not had a reply.

NEVER send three follow-up emails!

This will vary depending on many factors like the lab you work at or what the split is between remote and lab work.

It is totally normal for you to ask what the expected dress code is before you start buying clothes to dress in full business attire!

Depending on whether there are meetings or events occasionally during your internship, you may be expected to dress more formally on some days.

Most PIs want to pay you for your work, but simply don’t have the funding.

You can be transparent about whether you would do the internship without being paid. If they can’t fund you directly, you can ask whether they know of any societies they are a part of that would fund summer internships.

Checkout our Funding page for examples of societies that do this.

Available at the link below

While you’re there, try to make connections with people that interest you. If you have time, reach out to have meetings with them during your stay (people will be much more open to meeting with you if they know you are already somewhat involved in their workplace.)

Also - while not as easy with internships other than lab work/research - try to observe all the domains you have access to, maximising your exposure to new techniques and practices.