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How to Contact Employers

Let's say you found a company for your internship. The three main objectives of your phone call are to:

Get to the hiring authority

Get the name of the person

Get past the receptionist

Here is an example conversation, our caller (intern to be) is Celine, and the company's receptionist is Diana.

"Hi, my name is Celine, calling from Rouen, France. May I talk with the person in charge of your International Trade Department or (Chief of Engineer) or Mr. Smith (if you know the name)".

Diana may ask why you are calling by saying "what is this regarding?"

"I am seeking internship in Canada and found your company on the internet (or Chamber of Commerce) and I would appreciate it a lot if you can direct me to the right person in the company"

Sometimes, you can call a company and say that you are seeking an internship in Canada and need Diana's help to find the best person to talk to in the company about internship. You can clearly state that you need their help, and then they will be more than happy to help you.

If the receptionist who answers the phone at the company turns out to be helpful do not assume that the fist person you talk to or picks up the phone is not a decision maker, you will be surprised; sometimes the decision makers ask for their input.

Diana may say, "Mr. Johnson is the best person you should talk to but he is in a meeting. Would you like his voice mail?". Then you would leave a voice mail with his mail box. But before you go to his voice mail, you want to ask the reception if it is okay to have his email address for easier communication. Over 90% of times, you will get the email address.

When you have his or her email address and try sending the very first email, do mention that his or her assistant was very helpful. He or she will ask the reception who is this person, what did he or she want?

Finding the company that you want to do an internship, making the first contact and getting their recognition is the hard part. The rest is a lot easier. Most companies will appreciate your interest and effort calling from your home country to talk with the company.

We recommend that you use both resources which are to call and email the company. You can either email first or call to check and make sure that they have your email or vice versa.

Depending on where you are calling from (or planning to call), your time difference allows you to call Canada during the company work hours (Normally 9 am to 5pm), and you can call the company's main number and briefly express your interest for an internship.

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Canadian Internship is for: Non-Canadians Canadians	Language: En Fr Gr