This is a summary of a 2by22 article, adjusted for Brits.
Not all internships were created equally. Not all internships deserve the same approach.
There are internships with Fortune 500 companies, obscure start-ups, the ultra-competitive, and the hidden ones; formal programmes and informal programmes; internships at local offices and headquarters.
There are 4 categories.
1. Stars: well-known firms with a formal recruiting process
These are firms that regularly host events at university societies, have a stall at the careers fair, and recruit a lot of tier 2 graduates.
Examples: Deloitte, PwC, RBS, JP Morgan (Tech), Accenture etc.
Discoverability and competition: These firms typically invest significant funds into building their campus presence and as a result are widely recognised by students. The widespread recognition breeds a very competitive environment where everyone is trying to land interviews and offers with the same, limited set of firms.
If your goal is to work for a Star, take note of when applications open and apply early. These firms are simply too competitive to consistently land interviews from last-minute applications.
2. Staples: brand name companies that slip under the radar
The Staples are companies that are well known to the layman or to professionals in a particular industry. They are often large companies filled with talented professionals; however, they usually don't have a massive campus presence like Stars. Staple companies slip under the radar for most students.
Examples: Fortune 500 or similar well-known companies such as Procter & Gamble, Tesco, General Electric, Verizon, Levi Strauss & Company, etc. This category also includes well-known companies in specific industries, some of which may be smaller in size. For example, reputable software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies include Salesforce, ServiceNow, Zendesk, etc.
Discoverability and competition: These opportunities are typically not well known by students and/or are treated as backup options to the Stars.
Despite their well-known brand, Staples are ironically one of the most overlooked categories of companies. Stars absorb most students' attention, leaving a big opportunity for you to intentionally seek Staple companies.
If your goal was to land a Star internship and you end up with a Staple, it's not a big deal! There are countless examples of people who move from a penultimate-year internship at a Staple company to a full-time offer at a Star.
This happens because students with a big company name on their CV signal to future employers that they already went through a rigorous recruiting process (even if they didn't).
3. Moonshots: prestigious firms with little campus presence
Moonshots are prestigious firms that may be considered Stars at other universities, but don't have a huge presence at tier 2 universities like mine.
Sometimes, Moonshots don't recruit at any universities at all, because they tend to prefer experienced hires.
Examples: McKinsey, Evercore, Jane Street (prop trading), Sequoia etc. Private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, secretive research and development teams, and strategy or mergers & acquisitions teams at large companies are considered Moonshots to nearly everyone because they don't regularly recruit students (although you can still break in).
Discoverability and competition: Because Moonshot firms don't recruit at universities, they tend to have minimal recognition with the general student population. However, this by no means implies that they are easy to break into. The competition will be some of the most high-calibre students.
Other characteristics: Large Moonshot firms have formal recruiting timelines. Smaller firms tend to run a quick and low-key 2–3 week recruiting process. For these firms especially, it's important to "be in the know" leading up to their recruiting process.
Expand your internship and job search past the standard firms that recruit on campus by actively recruiting for a few Moonshot companies (if relevant to your industry of interest).
Despite being the most challenging category of internships to land offers with, there are countless examples of students from non-target universities breaking into the most exclusive, top-tier firms.
It's easy to write these students off as exceptions who are geniuses or have deep family connections. While this is sometimes true, many are simply above-average students who hustled and set a high bar for their ambitions. If you don't take the leap of faith and go for it, you'll never even have a chance.
4. Hidden Gems: opportunities without a visible job posting
If you're limiting your career search to job postings you see online, you are missing 80% of job opportunities out there. This is because many companies (especially smaller firms like startups) have an acute need to hire more employees or interns, but they never get around to listing a job posting on jobs websites like LinkedIn, Indeed, or the university career page. Just because the job posting does not exist does not mean that the job opportunity does not exist.
If you're interested in these, read the 2by22 blog post on how to secure a Hidden Gem.
Examples: Most hidden job opportunities exist in startups or smaller teams of large companies. Startups can be relatively big with a few hundred employees, such as Udacity, Flexport or Slack, or very small at under 50 employees.
Discoverability and competition: There are many startups and teams at big companies that are open to hiring interns. The tricky part is that these companies are not explicitly asking for interns. To find these opportunities, you need to reach out and ask them to consider you.
The advantage of Hidden Gems is that there is little competition because most people are not reaching out to companies without job postings. And due to the vast pool of hidden opportunities with very few applicants, these opportunities are relatively easy to land.
This is a great way to secure a summer internship for your first or second year before you are eligible for formal 10-week summer internship programmes.
Leverage your university network, get on LinkedIn and message people that work at a company you think might be fun to work at.
Be focused
Unfortunately, many students don't take any focused approach and rely on "spray and pray", which entails applying to hundreds of online job postings in one hour. This usually results in receiving hundreds of rejections as well.
It's better to have a clear, focused perspective on the types of opportunities you want to target based on your professional interests and prior experience. Then come up with a game plan and execute. Send cold emails, network with professionals, apply for specific opportunities… whatever you do, just keep pushing in a focused manner.
Lastly, never lose sight of the original purpose of internships: to discover your professional passions by exploring interesting and challenging jobs in a low-risk, non-committal environment. After university, it will be very difficult to work in new roles and different companies for 2 months.
The CV review scores your CV against what banks and consultancies screen for, so it's ready before applications open.