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UC Berkeley Global: Professional internships that make an impact

Pandemics strain businesses; businesses downsize. Something extra on your CV could work wonders to stand out from the spike in competition these days.

Cue the UC Berkeley Global Professional Internship Programme.

From marketing to UX/UI design and data science, the programme offers support to land internships in various industries and organisations in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s the kind of leg-up that can define the direction of your career.

As UC Berkeley Global Career Services Manager Randeep Kullar recently explained in her online webinar, there’s a lot more to an internship experience than meets the eye.

“Some people believe that only a job counts as experience, and that’s actually not the reality. If you take a look at my graduate studies, I had two years of internship experience and ended up getting offered a paid teaching position because of my internship work!

“If I hadn’t built those connections, and if I hadn’t built that trust, that offer wouldn’t have come to me,” said Kullar in her webinar.

Lead the industry with a UC Berkeley Global internship

UC Berkeley

Source: University of California Berkeley Global

Among the 2019 graduating class of Berkeley students who applied for a full-time job, 57.5% of students who received a job offer completed an internship

“Completing an internship at UC Berkeley Global can increase your opportunity to get a job by 16%,” Kullar said.

Take UC Berkeley Global alumna Elis Cotosky’s story as an example. She started her studies at the University of São Paulo in Brazil, but jumped on a plane to California when she found out about the Berkeley Haas Global Access Programme (BHGAP).

“What was originally planned to be a one-semester, study-abroad experience turned into a year-long stay in the heart of entrepreneurship and innovation,” Cotosky said.

During her studies, Cotosky had the chance to undertake a paid internship with a video-sharing platform named “Firework”.

Cotosky said, “A visiting lecturer came to my Introduction to Entrepreneurship class and spoke of the internship. I was immediately interested and applied — just to see what would happen. I was accepted and was so excited for this opportunity!”

During her internship, the career-driven international student shaped her entrepreneurial ambitions, refined her leadership skills, and fulfilled her dream of working in Silicon Valley.

UC Berkeley

Source: University of California Berkeley Global

In addition, Cotosky grew more confident and expanded her professional industry network throughout her time at university.

“The dynamic of the classroom is unique and the professors are all excellent. Berkeley’s international cohort allows you to meet so many different types of amazing people. My best friends in the programme were from India and Finland,” she said.

After the success of her first internship, Cotosoky is now on her second internship with Bain & Company in Brazil.

“There are always new things to do in Berkeley and you should just go for it. If you say yes to more things, then you will get the best out of your study-abroad experience!”

Connect and collaborate with US industry professionals

Are you ready to gain real-world experience in fields such as marketing, data science, finance, UI/UX, business development and entrepreneurship?

If so, the Professional Internship Programme at UC Berkeley Global provides exactly that. 

From the start of your internship experience, you’ll attend one-on-one coaching sessions by the Berkeley Global Career Services team. By day one of your internship, you’ll know how to work and thrive in a US company, expand your personal brand and define the direction of your career.

UC Berkeley

Source: University of California Berkeley Global

“My team will always be there with you through the career-counseling process and the interview prep. We help you find an internship through our database of companies that we work with and who have been taking in UC Berkeley Global students for years,” said Kullar.

You’ll also establish a network of industry experts and get to explore Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay Area industries and companies.

Anyone can apply for this internship opportunity. Kullar said, “We have interns that are in high school, in their freshmen years, in graduate school and even in mid-career. An internship can be done by anybody, at any point in their life.”

Expand your horizons, meet interesting people and make your CV stand out with UC Berkeley’s Professional Internship Programme. Find out more here

Spring 2021 Internship application deadline: September 2, 2020.

Summer 2021 Internship application deadline: January 26, 2021

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