Finding Internships Without Agents

[Roy van Doorn]

Hi there everyone!

My name is Roy van Doorn and I'm 4th year student from the Netherlands.

I want and will go to China in February 2013!

By that time I'll be done with my Bachelor in International Business and Languages.

Currently looking for internships and all the information I can find about China!

Because I've never been to Asia, everything is totally different that what I'm used to and finding the correct information is though too.

Maybe some of you people can help me out with some questions I have?

(All information is more than welcome! )

E.g. What is the best place to find an internship as a foreigner in Beijing or any other city? ( preferably Beijing though )

I'd be really nice not paying 3000 - 7500 RMB for an agency to help me out.

How are the people like? are they open minded towards Europeans?

Can I make myself a little bit understandble if I intensively try to learn to speak chinese within a month/ 2 months? just the basics though.

And which area would be most suitable to live for a ( by that time ) 23 year old guy which loves to hang out with people/locals and have a few drinks in the weekend?

I have so many more questions but if any of you guys out there could already give me some information, it'd be much appreciated!

Thanks!

[gougou]

One of the best places to look for internships in China is the job board at the German AHK. It's obviously heavy on German companies, but many of the jobs do not require German language skills (though given that you're Dutch and studied languages, I guess that shouldn't be too much of a problem anyway?)

http://china.ahk.de/job-market/internship-offers/

Some of the other chambers of commerce also have job boards, but last time I checked (which admittedly was a while back) they weren't near as busy. Give them a shot though (I particularly remember the European one and the American one).

As for the other questions (and also for this one, actually, you'll do best to have a look around these forums - they have been covered extensively already.

Several internships are also advertised on European job sites and especially internship sites (for example magazines geared toward young professionals would have those).

Finally, in case you haven't done so yet, try personal contacts - maybe your school can put you in touch with some alumni who did something similar?

[Roy van Doorn]

Gougou!

Thank you for this website! it looks really promising!

And yes you're right about this website, there is plenty of information... maybe too much so I don't even know where to start! haha

Do you perhaps know if there is any difference between the people for example, let's say... Beijing and Shanghai?

I'm from one of the smallest countries in the world and even we have different "cultures/accents" so I imagine that China has even bigger differences?

[roddy]

Probably best to keep this for specific internship advice - if you want a general "what's China like" overview, you should probably do some research on cities you're interested in and then come back with specific questions.

[Scott P]

I am doing an internship right now actually at a nice foreign run sourcing company in beijing. Their name is China Performance Group and you can apply on the website! good luck!

[Roy van Doorn]

Thanks everyone for your help.

For some reason, when I apply for an internship, they say that I am too early to look for an internship in February.

Because all the internship offers I find on the internet ( some really cool internships btw ) will start within 1/2 months from now.

Due to the fact that I need to arrange the visa and all that, I think it's important to find something soon enough.

Is this normal or do you guys have experience with this and have some advice?

[gougou]

I used to recruit interns for the finance department of a big German automotive company, and we had everything from people asked to take the next available flight to people confirmed half a year or more in advance.

It is true though that many companies (especially those not regularly using interns) only can judge in the short term where they will need support. So stay in touch with those companies who are telling you that you are too early, and keep on trying other companies - you're bound to find some that plan ahead a bit further.

And if you really like a position that is posted right now, why not just ask whether they will have similar needs in February? (Of course if you do this, you should be even more sure of your fit with the company - few things were as annoying as somebody with entirely irrelevant qualifications asking for special treatment...)

[Roy van Doorn]

Gougou,

You aren't in the position to introduce me to the person whose in charge of your previous position?

das würde mich wirklich freuen ;)

[icebear]

Generally lower level jobs won't hire so far in the future, and also not so far away. There is a large stock of students here that are able to intern on their student visas....

[gougou]

To be honest, I don't know who's in charge of that position now (the person I handed it over to is also back in Germany by now) , so you'd be best served by applying to the HR directly. The address you should you be able to find online. They would also consider unsolicited applications, and forward them to the relevant departments.

[wangw]

Hi,I'm Shawn.I'm in Beijing and i am a Chinese.

I've read your post.If you have any question,i'm glad to help.

I've known you are looking for a internship in Beijing.I and my friends,all Chinese,we're planning to create a website.We are looking for some foreign guys to join us.Due to everything is still in the works,so i can't offer details right now.But if you are interest in it,please contact me.

My MSN: xiaohan816@hotmail.com.My hotmail is full of junk mails.So,if you want to mail me ,my email:xiaohan81@vip.sina.com.

Any question is welcome.lol

[Baidu UE]

How about your chinese speaking ability ?

[Roy van Doorn]

Gougou, which automotive company was that you were working for? Volkswagon perhaps?

Shawn, you should be more detailed about your plan, what kind of website is it, and what's in it for me? ;)

Baidu UE, my Chinese skills are zero to Ni hao. Although I am eager to learn Chinese.

I've been talking to some chinese friends over skype and asked them to teach me somewhat, still stuck at the letter "a" with it's 4 tones. Although it's fun to learn.

[Friedrich]

Roy: from my experience unless you get an internship with one of the big international companies (Volkswagen for example), there is not much in it for you from a financial perspective. With a Chinese university graduate earning about 3.000 RMB / month, not many companies are willing to pay for an intern who hasnt finished his degree yet and usually doesnt speak Chinese.

Not many of course doesnt mean none at all, but if I did it, I would first do a Chinese course and then find a Chinese company to work at, whatever the pay as long as they dont make me speak English it would be great for language learning and I am pretty sure a very unique work experience.

[gougou]

Yes, I was at Volkswagen.

I agree with Friedrich that bigger companies are more likely to pay you (though many of the smaller ones also offer some pocket money or maybe a return flight). I'm not sure I'd recommend working in a Chinese company though, unless the language part of your studies is much more important to you than the business part.

[peaceck]

Hi everybody,

I am currently enrolled on a chinese language program at Zhejiang University but I am also actively looking for any internship opportunities in China.

Does anyone know a good website or any companies who are looking for internationals in China that don't charge these fees?

Cheers!

[gougou]

Merged two posts.