Finding an internship or even a permanent part time position? Although I had a goal after completing my bachelor’s programme in German Philology, I did not know how to reach it… I attended an event at Uniport on speculative applications, yet, I still did not know where to send those applications. I learned about the alma Mentoring programme from a newsletter and decided to take part.
The alma Mentoring follows an elaborate structure. After you pay a fee once, when searching for a mentor, you can specify the areas and positions you are looking for as well as desired qualifications of your mentor. The system then compares your own profile with the information of all mentors and presents the persons with the highest matches. You choose your mentor yourself. I first communicated with my mentor via the platform itself and later on WhatsApp. During our first meeting, we agreed upon the prescribed alma Mentoring agreement: “We meet approximately every 3 weeks virtually or in person. Our goal is to find an internship position for myself, Doris. The mentoring is completed when that goal is achieved.”
In my current degree programme, the master’s programme in Austrian Studies, it is mandatory to complete an internship of 120 hours in Austria. Frederike gave me hints on how to improve my CV and my job applications and encouraged me to apply to institutions near my home. She checked my job application documents for areas of improvement and helped me edit them. Shortly before sending my applications, I got the opportunity for an internship by pure chance through a course, which I eventually started in February 2023.
But where do I go from here? I kept the applications that Frederike helped me with and I plan on using them for applications in the future. In addition, Frederike assured me that I can always contact her after my internship whenever I need help. Therefore, our mentoring is not fully completed yet, although the agreement is fulfilled. I can say that I have learned a lot from the Mentoring programme: My CV is improved, I prepared job applications and definitely have more self-confidence when it comes to applications.
Do you want to become a mentee yourself? Find all the information about the alma Mentoring here.
Doris is studying the master’s programme in Austrian Studies and has completed the alma Mentoring.
