From First Interview to First Internship
My dear readers, I got an internship at the beginning of April. I think I was pretty lucky but still, I think it worth sharing.
My first interview
At the end of lunar year, a HR from Bosch messaged me on LinkedIn to encourage me applying into a C/C++ intern position. Even though at the end I didn’t receive the offer but that made me have a preparation ahead of many friends.
My CV
As a “traditional” mind, I learn and follow advice from Harvard College Resumes & Cover Letter Guide. So it’s a very basic, single column CV. I hate fancy and colorful templates on Canva, honestly. I didn’t include my GPA because mine is horribly low. I try to impress with my Coursera and IELTS certificates. Hope it works! If you want to have a sneak peak of my CV. Here you come: LaTeX4Fun/CV.
My first mistake
After sending the CV to the HR, I didn’t prepare anything more and continue my wrong routine. 2 days later, the HR called me for a phone interview while I was still snoozing. As you can guess, I came to the battle unprepared, I must left in defeat. Even though at that time, I was still very hopeful that I can pass to next stage of interview, but I was rejected after one week.
But at least, after that call, I immediately head to Coursera and do a small course about interviewing. The course link is here: Preparation for Job Interviews. I made an interview cheatsheet for myself and I think it helped me a lot in further journey.
Next rejected stories
My second interview is… also Bosch. I had a direct technical interview at the Job Fair in my campus. I thought everything went really smooth until the interviewer asked my GPA. My only mistake that day is I didn’t print out the CV, only keep the digital one.
My third time is predictable rejection. This time is BanVien company. They only hire Fresher this year, not Intern. I tried my luck but didn’t receive the call.
My first internship
The day after, I saw Vierobot on the Internship site of the Faculty. I immediately sent the CV out. Luckily, I received the email to schedule the interview shortly after that.
I remember that day, I had to wake my roommate up to do the makeup for me. It’s really a moment for myself, to feel that I am becoming an adult.
The interview isn’t intense and challenging like I expected. It’s a small startup company, I won’t have great benefits and great work culture like I dream but I can feel the positive atmosphere and the dynamic of youth’s dream there. As an intern, I should protitize what I can learn and experience, not the money. So I accepted the offer and I feel like it’s one of the greatest decisions I ever have.
So it’s a short story like that. I will officially start my internship at the end of May. Good luck for myself!