How One Student Went from Internship to Paid Job at a Tech Startup

For most students pursuing an internship, the main aim is to end up in a desirable paid role. Unfortunately, not everybody gets there. In fact, a recent study shows that 63% of students in paid internships and just 37% of students in unpaid internships will receive a job offer. 

The big question for many students is how to secure a paid internship. 

Aside from making sure you’re doing all you can to get work experience and fill up your resume while studying, there is one big choice you can make to give yourself an advantage when it comes to getting that job offer. You need to make sure you choose a college or university that has real, long-term industry relationships and a proactive student careers programme. 

Felipe Lopes da Costa is a Masters of Business Administration and Global Project Management student in his second year at Torrens University Australia, and in 2021, he decided he wanted to pursue an internship at a tech startup while still studying. His goal was to launch straight into a career by the time he graduated. 

Felipe approached Torrens University’s Success Coach, who shared the university's Careers Connect platform, a digital career services centre that connects students with available industry positions. Through Careers Connect Felipe found an internship opportunity that seemed a perfect fit for him – an internship with the Brisbane-based tech startup, nanoputian.io. 

This innovative young company designs and builds serverless integrations for business, and they had directly approached staff at Torrens University looking for marketing and software engineering interns. 

“As the COO for nanoputian.io, I’m presently responsible for business development, marketing, and business operations. We first met some Torrens University representatives at a Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport event, and it went from there,” explained Alex Ferguson.

“Felipe was chosen as part of an interview process facilitated by Torrens University. We interviewed a number of candidates from a shortlist of students, and he was a great choice,” Alex explained. 

He began his internship in September 2021 and instantly felt it was the right fit for him. 

“I joined Nano just over three months ago as a marketing specialist intern, and it has been a great experience from day one. Working as a marketing specialist for a technology company has been quite challenging but really rewarding,” Felipe said.

After his three-month internship was complete, staff at nanoputian.io were thrilled with Felipe’s performance and decided to offer him a paid, part-time role while he continues the rest of his studies. This offer only came about because of Felipe’s hard work and excellent performance in the role. 

Felipe is really happy in his new part-time role, and he’s so glad to have had this opportunity to test out the skills that he has learned as part of his course in an actual working environment. He felt prepared for his role because of the industry focus of his course content, and he is looking forward to learning more skills on the job, too. 

He wouldn’t have gotten to where he is unless he worked hard, built a solid resume and made himself a suitable candidate for the job. 

“I’ve learned so much about the industry, and I am so grateful that I have secured a part-time position at the end of my internship. Thanks to the Torrens University’s Success Coaches, the Careers Connect platform and to Alex Ferguson from Nano for the opportunity,” Felipe said.

When Felipe graduates in May 2022, he’ll have a smooth transition straight into full time work in his industry. Who knows what’s in store for the future, after that. 

However, that’s not the whole story.

Before Felipe got the internship, there was already an ongoing dialogue between Torrens University and nanoputian.io, and a thorough selection process in place all to ensure that the student-candidates would be suitable for the roles, and also for long term employment. 

“Torrens was extremely helpful throughout the whole process; they understood the value of the relationships being created and helped us find a student that would meet our short- and long- term goals.

Relationships like this are advantageous to the student, the university and to industry. They help build opportunities in the market that otherwise would be difficult to create,” Alex explained.

It’s essential to have some support from a university that takes student careers seriously.

Find out more information about Torrens University’s Careers Connect platform here, and see here for more information on the Master of Business Administration and Global Project Management at Torrens University.