Internships at ESSEC: organising your search and justifying your choice

Start with the question: what do you want from this experience?

Testing a function, discovering an industry, confirming a specialisation or breaking into a particular sector: these four aims lead to very different searches. A student who simply wants to try marketing will not write to the same teams as one preparing a second-year master's in finance who needs a solid name on the CV.

Before contacting anyone, write two sentences describing what you want to have learned by the end of the placement. This text becomes your compass for sorting offers, writing your cover letter and answering the question every recruiter eventually asks: why us, and why now?

A reasoned choice is the best defence against two opposite pitfalls: scattering your efforts, which produces a confusing track record, and chasing prestige, which leads you to accept a role unrelated to your goals.

What Career Services offers students

The school's public description of its careers services mentions one-to-one meetings with consultants on defining a project, choosing a direction and preparing the job search, along with workshops, self-study resources and a dedicated platform. The services also cover CV writing, interview preparation, improving a LinkedIn profile and meeting professionals from the sector you are aiming for.

To get the most out of an appointment, prepare for it:

• an up-to-date CV, even an imperfect one;
• two or three ideas for sectors or functions;
• a list of specific questions, for example “how do consulting firms view an internship in a small company?”.

The adviser is not a go-between who hands you a position: they help you put your thoughts into words, check them and improve them. Take notes and set yourself one concrete action to complete before the next meeting.

Going Pro: observing a profession before committing

Career Services presents Going Pro as a scheme for first-year students admitted through the competitive entrance exams. It involves observing a profession of your choice alongside an experienced manager. According to the public page, the time required is four consecutive days in November, and the assignment is one of active observation, not an operational internship.

That distinction matters: it should not be confused with an ordinary internship. It replaces neither a longer placement nor a standard internship agreement, but it gives you a first concrete picture of a working day. The conditions set for the host manager, such as a certain length of service and responsibility for a team, suggest that the aim is to see a management role at close quarters.

If the scheme appeals to you, choose a profession that genuinely raises questions for you, not the one that sounds impressive. An observation that challenges a preconception is worth more than a day that confirms it without teaching you anything.

Project Experience: a collective alternative to a standard internship

The school also presents a Project Experience for the Master in Management, described as a project-based alternative: groups of five students work on a real consulting assignment set by a partner company, from January to May, for half a day a week, supported by faculty and professionals.

For your application, this experience has a particular value: it gives you a concrete case to talk about in interviews, with a deliverable, a team, a deadline and a client. It does not necessarily replace an internship, but it can strengthen your application, especially if you are aiming for consulting or strategy.

Keep a record of your exact role: who led the analysis, who presented, which assumptions were challenged. These details make your account credible.

Forums, mentoring and networking: creating more chances to meet people

The careers services page mentions several recruitment events: a large forum on campus, events dedicated to consulting and finance, law, international careers, impact and hospitality, and meetings with start-ups. It also refers to a mentoring programme that connects you with an alumnus or alumna.

A forum on its own will not secure an internship, but it lets you identify teams, ask questions and obtain a contact. To make the most of it, prepare a thirty-second introduction, bring a printed copy of your CV or have it open on your phone, and note the first name of each person you speak to. Write within 48 hours, mentioning a specific point from your conversation.

A mentor, for their part, will mostly help with medium-term direction: which skills to build, which pitfalls to avoid in a sector, how to make the case for an unconventional path.

The internship agreement: steps and points to watch

An internship in France requires a three-party agreement signed before the placement begins by the student, the host organisation and the school. The programme you follow determines the requirements for validation, the expected durations and the administrative procedure. Consult the school's official information and ask for the steps to be clarified before you give an employer a final answer.

Always check:

• the start and end dates, which must respect the academic calendar;
• the description of duties, which should reflect a learning project and not a permanent job in disguise;
• the stipend, whose threshold and minimum amount are set by regulation and change over time;
• the name of the company tutor and that of the academic supervisor.

For an internship abroad, local rules come on top, notably on status, insurance and, for non-Europeans, residence permits. Plan for them early.

Illustration: an eight-week search timetable

Here is a fictional example, with rounded durations, for a student aiming for a six-month internship in corporate finance.

1. Weeks 1 and 2: meeting with a careers adviser, defining the target, updating the CV.
2. Weeks 3 and 4: attending a forum, contacting two alumni, drawing up a list of twenty teams.
3. Weeks 5 and 6: sending tailored applications, following up, first interviews.
4. Weeks 7 and 8: comparing offers, checking the agreement with the school, replying to employers.

This timetable is not official and offers no guarantee; it simply shows the value of separating the phases instead of running everything at once.

Following the placement to adjust the next step

Once the placement has started, the work does not stop. Agree three measurable objectives with your tutor for the first month, then schedule a check-in every two or three weeks. Note what you actually learn: tools you master, situations you handle, feedback you receive.

Then compare these notes with the objectives you wrote at the start. If you find that the profession appeals to you less than expected, that is a useful result: it stops you building a master's on a false hunch. If, on the contrary, it fascinates you, you will know which skills to deepen.

Career Services can also help during the placement, for example with a delicate situation or a conversation with a manager. Do not wait until the end to ask for advice.

Common mistakes to put right

• Accepting an offer without reading the whole agreement.
• Sending the same cover letter to every company.
• Confusing observation, a project and an internship, and expecting the same value from each.
• Not preparing for questions about motivation.
• Hiding a doubt instead of discussing it with an adviser.