Today we interviewed Marco Cortinovis, the CEO and one of the founders (with Virginia, Francesco and Gianmarco) of DailyInternship, a new start-up aimed to find easily and smartly new internships daily around Europe, and with whom Cattolica Global Markets Magazine has a partnership from one year.

 

“We started DailyInternship with a clear idea to eliminate pain points for both students and companies making the match process easier, faster and more transparent.”

 

Can you explain what you do in DailyInternship and how your business work?

We have formal roles but at this stage I constantly solve problems. We started DailyInternship with a clear idea to eliminate pain points for both students and companies making the match process easier, faster and more transparent. We try to make a difference in what we do everyday. The best part? It’s actually working and the most satisfying moment was being recognised for what we have developed. Students writing to us every day that DailyInternship has allowed them to find their dream internship, this is how I feel that we are actually making the difference. There is no ordinary life for an entrepreneur but this is what makes it more exciting.

DailyInternship is a social recruiting platform that aims to be a reference point for companies and students in the world of internships. The platform offers a double profiling to meet the needs of companies and students. Companies have a tool to reach, identify and select the right resource for their needs by benefiting from employer branding tools available on the platform. At the same time, the service offers students a virtual bulletin board of announcements (over hundreds of new weekly offers) that adapts to their characteristics and helps them identify the internship most appropriate to their characteristics and preferences. We now have students registered from more than 800 universities and our clients portfolio counts collaborations with more than 100 companies. Thanks to our presence both online and offline and we reach have ~2m impressions every month on our social network channels. DailyInternship is distinguished by 3 elements:

  1. European platform: we offer internship position across all Europe, without a specific single-country focus model like the majority of our competitor;
  2. Matching algorithm: this tool allows students to identify the best opportunities for them according to their previous experience, languages, sector preference, availability etc. At the same time, it will help companies to identify the talents they are looking for based on the requested profile;
  3. Presence on social networks: we are where students are and we fully exploit the potential of the social network to engage with our community of ~60.000 students across Europe.

 

“Students should use DailyInternship to find internships faster and save time to focus on what really matters.”

 

Why should young students apply in DailyInternship?

Students should use DailyInternship to find internships faster and save time to focus on what really matters.

We are developing an AI matching algorithm that will allow students to easily identify the best opportunity for them. We have more than 1500+ new internship opportunity every month across 11 different sectors (spacing from finance to startup, from consulting to luxury, from fast & consumer goods to engineering) across all Europe & Asia.

What are some tips you want to give to students about their CV and Cover letter? Which are the biggest mistakes to avoid?

Be precise. Work on details. Ask for feedback to more experienced people.

Remember that your CV is your Business Card when you are a student. Create your CV trying to make the most of every experience. Nowadays companies appreciate students that are active in a lot of different extracurricular activities.

70% of hiring managers say they would automatically dismiss a cover letter or CV with a typo. Triple check that you have addressed your cover letter to the right person, and that everything is spell checked and grammatically correct. Don’t be generic – if you are really interested in a position for which you are applying, do some research, talk to people inside the company and insert all your interest in the cover letter, it can really make a difference.

People used to say that there are less job opportunities compared to previous generations. Is it true or is it not? And is it better to stay in Italy or to go abroad?

I don’t think there is a “good” answer to this question – living abroad or in Italy can be a personal choice as there are good opportunities in all the major European cities. I would say that there are even some “hub” based on the city: it is known that London is the perfect city for who wants to work in finance, Berlin has a great and well-developed start-up ecosystem, Paris and Milan are perfect choices for fashion, Dublin for tech and so on.

One thing I would like to mention is that nowadays internships are becoming more and more important: it’s a test that could turn a 3/6 months experience into a full-time job. It’s a test for both the student and the company and based on our experience, there has been an incremental number of internship offers every 5 year. Just for having an idea how big is the internship market in Europe: companies offer every year more than 4.5m opportunities. Prepare your CV and launch your career!

I guess you have encountered several difficulties along the way. Which were them and how did you deal with them?

Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely job. You have to make tough decisions on your own, the work schedule can be unpredictable (it usually requires more work and longer hours than being an employee) and sometimes the overall experience can be scary: you are completely responsible for the success or failure of your business.

So you agree with me that although difficulties, there are positive facts to be an entrepreneur? Can you tell?

It’s impossible to name only on factor. From how I see it, it’s a combination of different aspects: flexibility, excitement, control and responsibility. I work with my own schedule, I choose the people of my team, I create my own opportunities, I develop my own project the way I want and I stand up for what I believe in.

What are your plans for the future?

We want to become the reference platform in the market for internship research. We want to create a community with bright students all around Europe and we want to make a difference for young minds especially in the first steps of their successful career. Stay tuned and let be surprised by our team!

“When you want to succeed as badly as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful.”

To conclude, what do you want to say to young students?

You are not defined by your failures – you’re empowered by them. Don’t let any rejection making you feel “sad”: learn from your mistakes and make the most of it. Make experience, create a brand around yourself. Eric Thomas claimed, “When you want to succeed as badly as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful.” Learn with passion. Learn to embrace challenges rather than avoid them. Choose to see challenges as fun opportunities to learn.. and of course, good luck in your internship search!

 

 

For more https://www.dailyinternship.com/

Leave a Reply