Shanghai Expat

Questions and Answers - Internships (tips and ideas)
sienna - Feb 03, 2008 - 02:05 AM
Post subject: Internships (tips and ideas)
I have a question regarding internships. I think it should be time to already start applying for summer jobs now as I want to make sure that it's at a company that I truly am interested in working with, and that the benefits are good enough.

I want to make sure that I'm applying for the top opportunities, that is very important to me. How much should I expect as a salary per month and as I have already bought my flight ticket to Shanghai, the company doesn't have to pay for my trip, so should I at least expect that they pay for my residence or incrase my monthly salary?

Is it even possible to apply for German or British companies even if I'm Swedish? Maybe they prioritize their own native students...but I guess I can still try.

I would prefer to have an internship at law firms specializing in corporate finance or big consultancy firms such as McKinsey, etc. (I'm a business student)
jtburns2323 - Feb 03, 2008 - 09:55 AM
Post subject:
From my experience, it is difficult to acquire paying internships prior to the summer before your senior year of college. Top finance companies, at least in the US, recruit from around Dec.-March to find summer interns. These interns are paid around $4,000-$5,000/month and expected to undertake a similar workload as a full-time employee, 70-100 hours/week.

Even if you are interested in an unpaid internship prior to your junior year in college, without connections, it is probably fairly difficult to get into the top international law firms and consulting firms. In my opinion, the best idea is to focus on local opportunities in similar fields. That will allow you to begin to build a resume and show a documented interest in the fields that most interest you. Maybe after you complete an unpaid internship opportunities will present themselves the following summer. Ultimately, the goal is to have each summer experience build on the previous year's experiences and lead to the best possible internship opportunity prior to your final year in college. Hope this helps.
mrpango - Feb 03, 2008 - 09:58 AM
Post subject:
Sienna, make sure you stick with the internship this time instead of quitting after a while.

A lot of the time, companies are not willing to take the risk of letting you take on too many responsibilities (have a friend in London doing an internship in a financial services company, and she has hardly anything to do).

So... as I said before its not all a bed of roses, you will sometimes have to put up with having nothing to do but make coffee and stuff Wink
mrpango - Feb 03, 2008 - 10:02 AM
Post subject:
Regarding salary, don't expect too much, its not uncommon to have unpaid internships here, though my sister did an internship a couple of years back, and got 5000 rmb a month Smile
anonynon - Feb 03, 2008 - 12:10 PM
Post subject:
Officially you can't be paid. You can only get expenses. Foreign interns in my (MNC) company get 4,000 and shared accomodation. To be honest it's pretty good for what the interns offer.
underh20 - Feb 03, 2008 - 12:13 PM
Post subject:
^ Right.

And not every MNC will take on interns from abroad.
babebibobu - Feb 03, 2008 - 12:53 PM
Post subject:
These are the facts little girls:

- Most MNCs wont bother with a foreign interm
- Most won't pay
- If they pay, it will be based on what they pay local interns

Stick to what I told you before, off board, identify your strength and target the right companies + get in through relationships (if you dont have them, find them). Perhaps put a "job wanted" ad in your blog - which is real popular and read by many execs like me and underho.
ichbinani - Feb 03, 2008 - 02:25 PM
Post subject:
mrpango wrote:
Regarding salary, don't expect too much, its not uncommon to have unpaid internships here, though my sister did an internship a couple of years back, and got 5000 rmb a month Smile


RMB5000?!

Since this year, my boss refuses any internship applicant in admin function like finance, HR, marketing or business who can't speak fluent Chinese.

He only consider techinical interns and his budget for a foreign intern is RMB 2000/per month. ( by the way, we won't pay the accomendation, flight ticket, or anything else.)
babebibobu - Feb 03, 2008 - 03:02 PM
Post subject:
In my company, I would pay Sienna 1500 RMB + some modern bonus based on measurable results. Perhaps she could get 2500 RMB max per month if performance if good. It would be some sort of marketing job towards foreign companies in China + some organization work with a marketing event (seminar or the like). But we are not her target company as we dont value her Swedish language skills, her blogging experience and we would be worried she quit the job half-way... And I have enough young cuties in the office. She should work on her positioning in the market, identify the right companies etc.
mrpango - Feb 03, 2008 - 04:31 PM
Post subject:
ichbinani wrote:
mrpango wrote:
Regarding salary, don't expect too much, its not uncommon to have unpaid internships here, though my sister did an internship a couple of years back, and got 5000 rmb a month Smile


RMB5000?!

Since this year, my boss refuses any internship applicant in admin function like finance, HR, marketing or business who can't speak fluent Chinese.

He only consider techinical interns and his budget for a foreign intern is RMB 2000/per month. ( by the way, we won't pay the accomendation, flight ticket, or anything else.)


Actually she had a promotion during that time - as a woman was on maternity leave. This was secured through guanxi (through my uncle actually).
sienna - Feb 03, 2008 - 05:04 PM
Post subject:
I have had internships in Shanghai before, I got 4000 rmb/ month in the end of 2006 when I haven't even started my university studies.
Now I will intern after finishing 3 semesters in uni and a pretty fantastic CV for my age, so I'm sure I will find something good if I'm right in time.

Ah well, I have sent out a couple of resumes and am waiting for replies.

Yes, I did quite after a month last year of my summer intership but that was because of many different reasons that I don't feel like sharing as they are private. So please do not bring it up as showing that I'm a failure which I'm not.

I'm sure multinational companies would love to have interns in their offices. Even if they don't get to alone work with the real cases, they at least still get an insight of the company and what it does, or mostly important what the company stands for; their corporate culture.
We are the future, we are the people who are going to work at those companies in a few years, that is why it is crucial for those companies to welcome us, even before us finishing out studies so we are prepared for the real job after graduating.
mrpango - Feb 03, 2008 - 05:07 PM
Post subject:
Actually no, interns are seen as a hinderance a lot of the time Smile
babebibobu - Feb 03, 2008 - 10:32 PM
Post subject:
It is true that Sienna's resume (and just about everything else about her) is outstanding for her age. We tend to forget that a few months ago she was just a high school student!
wparks - Feb 04, 2008 - 03:28 AM
Post subject:
I am new to this site and saw the title of the forum. I am a junior at The University of Tennessee in the states and am studying at Fudan University from Feb 21- July 5th and was trying to find an internship or job in logistics or finance while I am there. I do not know any Chinese, but will be taking a class while I am there. I have given my resume to a few people in hopes of finding something with no luck yet. Any suggestions???
GC - Feb 04, 2008 - 03:34 AM
Post subject:
sienna wrote:
I'm sure multinational companies would love to have interns in their offices.


which is generally why they will offer the positions to their own staff from other countries
ichbinani - Feb 04, 2008 - 10:51 AM
Post subject:
sienna wrote:

Yes, I did quite after a month last year of my summer intership but that was because of many different reasons that I don't feel like sharing as they are private. So please do not bring it up as showing that I'm a failure which I'm not.

I'm sure multinational companies would love to have interns in their offices. Even if they don't get to alone work with the real cases, they at least still get an insight of the company and what it does, or mostly important what the company stands for; their corporate culture.
We are the future, we are the people who are going to work at those companies in a few years, that is why it is crucial for those companies to welcome us, even before us finishing out studies so we are prepared for the real job after graduating.


Well, That is a typical image of a young western person in my eyes.
"i have my reason to do it... i like this,,, what i want is... i need... it is your responsiblity to do it for me... i don't like.... You should..." VERY INTERESTING!
underh20 - Feb 04, 2008 - 10:52 AM
Post subject:
^ Typical of young Chinese people.
bougie - Feb 04, 2008 - 11:19 AM
Post subject:
sienna wrote:
I have had internships in Shanghai before, I got 4000 rmb/ month in the end of 2006 when I haven't even started my university studies. .


Good for you. Maybe you can find something better but maybe not.

sienna wrote:

Now I will intern after finishing 3 semesters in uni and a pretty fantastic CV for my age, so I'm sure I will find something good if I'm right in time..


CV is only part of the package and 3 semesters compared to 0 or 1 is not a tremendous difference for certain companies.

sienna wrote:

Ah well, I have sent out a couple of resumes and am waiting for replies. .


You should sent a couple of dozen, minimum. You should know from your hits on your blog that the more shiit you throw at the at the wall, the more of it sticks (or stinks) .
sienna wrote:


Yes, I did quite after a month last year of my summer intership but that was because of many different reasons that I don't feel like sharing as they are private. So please do not bring it up as showing that I'm a failure which I'm not. .


Be ready to answer this point. They may ask about your previous job so you'd better rehearse this one.

sienna wrote:

I'm sure multinational companies would love to have interns in their offices. Even if they don't get to alone work with the real cases, they at least still get an insight of the company and what it does, or mostly important what the company stands for; their corporate culture.
We are the future, we are the people who are going to work at those companies in a few years, that is why it is crucial for those companies to welcome us, even before us finishing out studies so we are prepared for the real job after graduating.


Yes but they have budgets and many resume's
mentos - Feb 04, 2008 - 11:39 AM
Post subject:
I know a few university students/high school graduates from the West who were here for 3-6 months internships and were paid RMB5000-6000/month. However, these interns are usually majors in specialized areas who bring along an adequate level of knowledge from what they are learning in uni (one of them interned for a German machinery company). Most of those interns in marketing, sales, admin, etc. help with promoting the company through ways such as cold calling, coordination with international offices, etc.

Keep in mind for the above examples (at least the ones I know), all of them are caucasians. The reality is that some of the companies, usually small local firms, thought they would benefit from having a foreign face and getting interns would be a low-risk & low-cost move.
All times are GMT + 8 Hours
Powered by MDForum 2.0.7 © 2003-2007 based on phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Team
and by MDTheme which uses Theme Graphics by Daz
and by Attachment-Mod 2.4.3