Speed date yourself to an internship

Speed dating with potential employers

Find an internship in fifteen minutes

Text: Students from the Journalism and Commercial Writing minor at Zuyd University of Applied Sciences

Speed dating: a fast and truly efficient way to find potential partners. That’s why Zuyd organizes spring and autumn speed dating events, under the heading: Meet your Future. This enables you to get to know potential internship companies in a flexible and fun way.

Hundreds of interviews took place between students and companies during the first editions of Meet Your Future. Speed dating enables both parties to get a good idea of each other so you can see immediately if there’s a match! Zuyd students Dahnee, Vincent, Maud, and Michiel tried the speed dating in their search for an internship.

Dahnee de la Croix (fourth-year Business Studies) had already sent many e-mails and open applications letters but without success Her internship coordinator recommended that she take part in the speed dating event, which had actually already started. At the eleventh hour Dahnee still managed to arrange a few interviews.

Would she have preferred to speak to the internship providers in person? ‘Although it’s not exactly same communicating via a laptop, the differences are not so huge. Companies did their very best to make a good impression'. Dahnee’s got a good tip on how important it is to be well prepared for the interviews: know what you want to ask.

Maud Maluche (fourth-year Facility Management) was looking for an internship. Even though she was still busy doing her minors, she wanted to find out more about interesting sectors and organizations. After the speed dating, she’s got a good idea of what she wants and knows what kind of internship would suit her. ‘Be honest about what you want, what you’re looking for and about your strengths and weaknesses,’ she explained. Was speed dating a success? Maud continued: ‘Well, I managed to find an internship via speed dating! Without speed dating, I think I’d still be searching now,’ says Maud.

Michiel Miermans (fourth-year Oriental Languages and Communication) kept putting off arranging his graduation internship. When he heard about the speed dating he thought ‘Oh no, that’s not for me. I’d have to really sell myself to them.’ After a meeting with the student counsellor, he decided to give it a go. ‘I was terrified, but everyone was so nice. I am so pleased I did it. It’s not about whether it goes perfectly; it’s about having that discussion. ’Michiel’s tip: ‘Just go for it without having any expectations. You’ll maybe even learn something surprising about yourself. For instance, I learned that it’s important that I only grow if I step out of my comfort zone.’

Vincent Welling (fourth-year Marketing Management) had found three companies that he really liked the look of. ‘How do you know whether you’re choosing the right companies? You don’t actually know that, which is what’s so great about speed dating’, smiled Vincent. Having a click with a company was really important for him, and he felt that immediately with one of the speed dates.

‘Without speed dating I would’ve had to make loads of phone calls and visits only to find out that a company wasn’t even on the lookout for an intern. With speed dating, the companies are already looking for someone so the chance of a match is much higher.’ Vincent has good memories of the event: ‘For me it wasn’t only a success because I found an internship, it also gave my self-confidence a huge boost!’

We will be organising another ‘Meet your Future’ at the Nieuw Eyckholt location in Heerlen on 11 May 2022. This will be a ‘live’ festival. If you’d like more information about this festival or other ways to get in touch with regional employers, visit https://www.careerservices.zuyd.nl