GUARANTEED INTERNSHIPS

At Pearson College London, we believe that industry knowledge doesn’t, and shouldn’t end in the classroom and getting hands-on experience is a great way to boost your CV and make yourself stand out from the graduate crowd.

Your academic success is really important, but take it from us when we say that employers are interested in the “other things” you did to grow and develop yourself while at university: attending industry days, competing in business challenges, volunteering and direct work experience such as internships. We call this the “second syllabus” and we know from Pearson College London alumni that this is just as important as the degree in getting a great job once you graduate.

To date, our students have completed internships at a range of organisations from global brands such as Saatchi & Saatchi and Accenture; to public organisations and charities such as the Civil Service and Oxfam; to SMEs such as The Access Platform and Learnetal.

Your career journey at Pearson College London

So, how does the internship fit in with your learning experience at Pearson College London? Let’s think of it as building blocks, with each year getting you one step closer to landing that perfect job opportunity after you graduate.

In your first year, you are transitioning into higher education and it’s a great year to explore all the industry opportunities that we offer at Pearson College London. We really want to encourage you to attend industry days, participate in business challenges and actively engage with our Talent Development Centre, a new platform that you can find on the student portal. 

Year two is about giving it a go and starting to think about the right career path for you, and one excellent way to test the water is by completing an internship. All the great industry activities you’ve been involved with in your first year will help to increase the impact of your CV and will provide plenty of material for you to speak about in your interviews with employers. Keep going to industry events during this year, employers love to see you have been proactive in developing yourself outside of the classroom! 

This final year is all about consolidating your experiences and thinking about how they can help shape your professional profile. Most importantly, it’s time to start actively applying for roles. Most applications for graduate schemes start early, but this isn’t the only way to find a good job - here at Pearson College London we provide evenings with alumni to help you understand the different ways to approach job hunting, and the endless range of different jobs and industries that may suit you as a graduate.

Meet some of the interns

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Oliver Moreton, Projects Intern at ukactive

Business Management with Marketing

Working in the sports industry has always been a dream of mine, when the internships team at Pearson College London made me aware of the role, I jumped at the opportunity.

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Charlie Brewster, Business Development Intern at Pulsar

Business Management

 I had the opportunity to engage in driving the company forward, by helping them acquire new clients and driving business growth. I have loved every minute of it.

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Martha Horrox, Marketing & Business Development Intern at True Altitude

Business Management with Marketing

I have learnt and personally developed a huge amount from my four months, I am delighted to be continuing to work with them part-time during my third year.

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Francesca Zanetti, Data Analyst Intern at Pearson

Business Management with Finance

Thanks to networking at an industry day, I was fortunate to land a summer internship working as a Data Analyst. I’ve now been offered the role as a part-time job - proof that networking is so important in business!

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Aiswarya Nadesan, Paralegal Intern at Fladgare LLP

Law

The opportunity to work at Fladgate LLP in their Litigation Department has been the best moment in my legal career so far!

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Kelly, Corporate Funding Intern at Home Start Southwark

Business Management with Finance

Working for a charity has been so inspiring, all the staff love what they do and it was a very supportive environment.

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Kurandip Munday, Tech Product Intern at Tesco

Business Management with Finance

I've learnt so much about the professional environment that I'll take with me into my future career.

Why do we promote Internships?

  • Develop your soft skills ready for full-time employment in the future
    Time-management, organisation, communication and team-work may be skills you’re using now, but once you’re in a work environment they’re skills that become entirely different. From managing multiple projects with conflicting deadlines, to arranging and attending meeting with internal and external stakeholders to liaising with colleagues all over the world who may be working on the same project. These are the skills employers are looking for, and by gaining these during an internship ahead of graduation, you’re already taking the step to make yourself stand out from your peers.
  • Give you an insight to different industries and sectors
    Most of you will attend at least one Open Day, Taster Day or Professional Workshop before deciding on where to study so that you can get a feel for what it’s like and to see if it is the right choice for you - and choosing your career is no different. Our Guaranteed Internship scheme gives students a chance to try out a role or an industry to see if it’s what they want to do - they may realise it’s their dream job or that it’s not what they thought it would be at all. This experience may then help to shape module selections later on in the course.
  • Networking and making connections
    Most graduates don’t start making connections until they start their first job, but by getting that experience early on as a student, you’ll make connections that you may be able to utilise when you’re looking for a full-time role. If you really impress your managers whilst interning, they may consider you for a placement year or even future roles - so it’s always a good idea to connect and stay in touch.
  • CV gold
    This one is self-explanatory. The more experience you can add to your CV whilst studying, the better. This will show employers you’re committed and already have a good idea of office culture and the key soft skills for roles.

Frequently asked questions

Other Opportunities 

Industry Placements

As well as our Guaranteed Internship scheme, we also offer students the opportunity to take an industry placement for between 10 - 15 months in between your second and third year. This gives students an opportunity to get some excellent experience within an organisation before returning for your final year of studying.

Amy Butcher is currently taking part in a Industry Placement with L’Oreal - hear what she has to say about her placement:

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I am now near to completing my one year internship placement at L’Oréal where I am a Digital Marketing Intern in the Professional Products Division. My role is specialised in CRM and SEO, whereby I manage the whole process for emails the brands send to their consumer databases and help to improve their search ranking on Google. It has been an amazing experience as you are not treated as much like an intern and more of part of the team with a lot of responsibility. I have learnt so many new skills from time management, stakeholder management to using applications such as Google Analytics, Magento (CMS) and more! For me, this has been a fantastic opportunity to immerse myself in the world of work, and I’ve gained so many skills that I can take back and use in my final year.

Amy Butcher, Industry placement with L'Oreal