How to find a traineeship in pandemic times

Son güncelleme Çarşamba, 14/05/2025

The wider picture may indicate that finding a traineeship nowadays is harder than it was and it is probably the case, but we can look at it closer to find our way into a job experience.

The pandemic has certainly had a tremendous impact on the labour market and, by extension, on available traineeship opportunities. However, in many cases they continue to be a compulsory part of most study programmes, hence provoking headaches to students eager to finish their studies and to those who had already completed their studies but are on the hunt for their first job experience.

Despite being a bit more challenging because many organisations or companies may have put on hold their traineeship programmes, it continues to be possible to find a placement abroad to enrich your CV. Graduates from either vocational education or higher education, can be supported by the Erasmus+ programme to do a traineeship abroad. 
On the other hand, remote positions for traineeships have greatly increased, which may be a scenario to keep in mind during your search.

Hence we are keen on making it easier for you with some recommendations.   

1. Map out your qualifications, skills, and interests

Take a look at what you have done so far to get a clear picture of your background and think of how you see your future career to identify what step or experience is essential for you to have in between. However, not everyone finds it so easy to picture their future career in a concrete field, so perhaps you can decide to try out a job experience in a field that doesn’t match 100% your background but you want to see if it fits you. The latter will give you more flexibility while the former will help you to have more direction in what you’re looking for. Perhaps at this point, you can decide whether you aim to do a traineeship in your home country or abroad. 

There are different tools online that help you do this type of mapping and perhaps you have also discussed this with professionals at your schools. Don’t hesitate to visit a career centre or even contact an EURES adviser! 

2. Decide on what you are looking for

Embarking on a traineeship search may look tantamount to navigating in muddy waters, but being clear on what you are looking for will be reassuring because it will give you some structure. In other words, your aim can be getting a 3-month experience to complete your studies and close that chapter, or it can be more open as to fields of work and duration. 

Despite making your own mind on what you want to achieve, try to be flexible and take into account those sectors that have been boosted by the pandemic such as the healthcare sector or digital areas.

If you are tempted by a traineeship at the EU institutions, don’t forget to visit the Traineeship section on the Portal to find some inspiration. 

3. Be clear and simple

Once you know what you are applying for, make sure that your CV responds to the position requirements by highlighting the skills and talents you possess that may fit the organisation. Looking for a traineeship doesn’t have to make your CV a blank page, because you certainly have many skills that you have obtained through non formal activities such as volunteering, or teams’ membership, that deserve being highlighted because they can be beneficial for the institution that hosts you.

You can use the revamped Europass format, which will give a professional look and will help you to update future qualifications and experiences you obtain.

Don’t forget that it is a traineeship period and that you should be learning and receiving mentorship, which could become the first stone towards a successful career path. So, it would be excellent to state in your application how you think this experience can contribute to building your future career.

4. Use your network

Most likely you have at hand’s reach some useful resources to find what you need. For example, make sure you check with your university or faculty if the institution has a platform of collaborative entities where you can apply for a traineeship period. Sometimes these platforms are not widely promoted but if they do exist in your institutions, why not give it a go?

If no such official platform exists in your institution, you should be open with your professors who probably remember former students and where they were selected for traineeship periods. They may give you some clues that you haven’t heard of before.

You should also make the most of your informal network LinkedIn showcasing your skills and interests, and starting conversations with people you may think can help you. Don’t be shy and ask for advice, everyone has got to start a career! 

5. Get your feet in the job world

Check out job search engines like those we suggested in the article “Employment in Europe” because many companies and organisations use these platforms indistinguishably for posting job offers or traineeship opportunities.  You never know if you can land on your feet with your first job opportunity.

Bear in mind that you don’t have to wait for opportunities to come up, you can also take the initiative and apply yourself to a company by contacting them and sending your CV in spontaneous candidatures.