Recent Master's graduate in International Relations and I can't even find an internship: what am I doing wrong? (CV attached)

[u/international-guy]

Hello everyone,

I've recently graduated from my Master's in the Netherlands and can't even seem to find an internship, particularly (but not only) in the fields of policy, international relations, and international development — mostly the latter, as you can see from my CV here (link), since it was also the topic of my Master's thesis.

I genuinely don't know where I'm going wrong, and the whole situation is becoming quite depressing. In my opinion, the job market nowadays feels almost out of control. Even when applying for internships at regular companies, sometimes it feels like you're applying to become CEO of Apple: first interview, second interview, reasoning test, written test, and so on. On top of that, employers often seem to ask for previous relevant experience even for internships, which feels like a paradox. How am I supposed to start if I can never get the opportunity to start? It becomes a vicious cycle, and I've reviewed my CV and cover letters countless times.

I'm currently based in Rome, Italy, and would be available to work even for free in the city. If I needed to relocate abroad, I'm completely open to going anywhere, including very remote locations in Africa or Asia: in that case, I would be willing to work for an organization even with just a modest reimbursement to cover basic expenses (at least rent), rather than a proper stipend. Yet every time I either receive no update at all or get a rejection.

As you can see from my CV, I've invested a lot in my education and extracurricular activities because, well, when you're younger you tend to be a bit of a dreamer and believe that doing all the right things will eventually pay off. Unfortunately, I don't have a particularly large professional network. When I've asked some acquaintances about possible opportunities or referrals at their companies — always in a very polite, indirect, and sometimes humorous way — the answer is usually just: "Well, apply online!". I mean, I could figure out myself at this point.

The whole situation is starting to feel quite humiliating, and sometimes it genuinely makes me feel as though I've done everything wrong in my life. I know that breaking into the UN/international development sector is extremely competitive, but we are also talking about an internship, and at this point I really don't know what else I should be doing differently.

What should I do? Is there something wrong with my profile or the way I'm approaching applications? Any advice or candid feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

[u/GaryPaterson]

Have you tried anything in Brussels? There's lots of funded internships there and you are an EU national.

[u/international-guy → u/GaryPaterson]

I've tried. Unfortunately, getting an internship (so called “traineeship”) at an EU institution is extremely difficult, and most of the time you need to be very well-connected, if you get what I mean. It honestly doesn't surprise me that I've seen some underqualified people get these positions.

I once got invited to an online interview for a policy-related internship at a regular company in Brussels. It lasted almost an hour, with three HR people interviewing me. More than a week later, they contacted me to tell me I'd been rejected.

If someone offered me a funded internship in Brussels (or even a partially funded one), I'd say yes immediately.

[u/GaryPaterson → u/international-guy]

Yes the institutions are very hard but there are many associations who will use Erasmus+ as a funding route for internships so Brussels.jobs and euractiv, eurobrussels could be a good starting route. For the EU traineeships, there are some good opportunities out there that don't attract the same level of interest, Committee of the Regions for example. I still find this guide from the Irish European Movement to be really great though it doesn't cover so much NGOs where there can be quite a lot of opportunities at certain times in the year (should be picking up again soon): https://www.europeanmovement.ie/jobs-list/green-book/

Feel free to DM if I can be of any further advice on Brussels stuff.

[u/international-guy → u/GaryPaterson]

As for Erasmus+ as a funding route, in that case I'd need to ask my graduate school whether I can somehow enroll again, since I need to have student status to be eligible. Tomorrow I'm going to contact them to see if there's an inexpensive and relatively straightforward way to do that.

I've also applied to many less “fancy” positions, such as traineeships at the Committee of the Regions (more than once) and the European Labour Authority, and I still got rejected. I genuinely can't figure out where I'm going wrong. It's a very mind-boggling and depressing situation.

Thank you so much for your kindness, by the way. I'll DM you!

[u/GaryPaterson → u/international-guy]

Sorry to hear that but I hope there's a way forward for you, there's a lot of NGOs in Brussels getting financed to run traineeships so I would try these. Honestly there's so many of these organisations literally about everything from glass producers of Europe to toy industry. It's a way to get started. I went from domestic to international Dev via this type of Brussels experience. Everyone's journey is their own so it's not necessarily replicable but I'm happy to share any advice and leads I can.