One of the main goals of the Council of Women in Business in Bulgaria is to support young people at the start of their professional careers and to encourage them to stay to work and develop their talent in Bulgaria. We believe that completing this internship can be a crucial first step for young people towards a successful future career realization. We are extremely proud that just in six years we managed to turn the “Staying in Bulgaria” campaign into a large-scale internship initiative.  

Since its launch in 2015, more than 10,000 young people have completed an internship at the Council’s member companies.

The program provides an opportunity to generation Z (born between 1995 and 2005), who are already interns at the Council’s member companies, to gain additional knowledge and skills directly from established specialists in various professional fields. The initiative helps the youngest future professionals to prove their abilities and skills, to enter the business world and to get new opportunities for improvement, suitable environment and incentive for implementation in the country. Young people get the opportunity to upgrade their competences, acquired in university, through a series of seven free specialized trainings led by established professionals in various professional fields. Some of the topics of the lectures are Presentation skill, Effective business communication, How to prepare and present at an interview; Building a personal brand in social networks; The benefits of diversity, equality and inclusion in the team, “Project Management” and “Business Simulation – Personal
Investments”.

In the Internship Handbook, we cover both perspectives of internships – from the intern’s side and from the employers’ side.

We will examine the two perspectives of internships in three sections – For Interns, For Employers, and Good Practices.

The first section contains information about interns – why an internship is a well-invested time and effort. How to look for an internship, choose a suitable internship and what are the different types of internships – what programs we can join. What is an internship and what should we be prepared for – what to expect and what is expected of us as interns.

The second section contains information for employers – why dedicating time and resources to including interns in the team(s) is important for the organization. What will the internship program/initiative contribute to the business and positioning of our company. What do interns want and look for – what to expect when they join the team. Why invest in developing an internship position. What are the main steps for developing a successful internship program.

In the third section, we have included examples of successful internship initiatives and programs of various companies. Here we offer examples of internship initiatives, career development opportunities, photos, a description of the internship work duties, as well as ways and contacts for applying to specific companies.