HR internships

A HR internship is a structured period of work experience with a human resources team. As a HR intern, you will usually spend some time learning the ropes and working on projects, while also attending formal training sessions.

Larger employers typically offer summer internships for between four and eight weeks over the summer – these are often aimed at penultimate-year students, but sometimes open to applicants from other university years too. A few also offer ‘placement years’ of up to 48 weeks to students on sandwich-year degrees. Smaller employers may be able to offer less formal and shorter periods of work experience.

As a HR intern, you will gain insights into the nature of the work of a HR manager and you are likely to gain and develop the following skills:

• Communication skills, both oral and written
• Emotional intelligence and a greater understanding of human behaviour
• Relationship-building and teamworking skills
• Commercial awareness (an understanding of how business works)
• Discretion
• Analytical skills, with the ability to interpret both qualitative and quantitative data
• Problem-solving skills
• Attention to detail
• Organisation and time management.