First Step to Signing Up: Picking your field. While the descriptions of the internships are somewhat vague, many of them are attached to really cool organizations and companies. If you start applying to jobs on your own, many employers in Israel will say "Contact me when you get here" -- since you are only an intern, you are not first priority, and so when you contact him/her in February you will meet with them in March and then you will start to MAYBE work in April and then you will be ready to go home. It is a frustrating reality but it is truth. So - best to be focused and decide what kind of work environment you want -- the best thing about it is that you can decide what about the company you want to do and make it happen.
Since my first plan was to go to law school I figured working in law would be best. BUT - law internships in Israel are not easy to find. Most of their interns have already finished law school - so if you are looking for law work, best to connect with an NGO. You'll get great experience - probably more than if you were standing at the photocopy machine in a huge law firm.
Still I preservered and got an internship (on my own) for an organization of lawyers that helped charedi women with domestic abuse issues be represented in courts. On an organized trip from MASA to Better Place, a groundbreaking start up in Israel, my coordinator told me to come sit next to her because my internship said that they would no longer be able to have me intern. Nuff Said. After weeks of emails and interviews and starting the first day, I had to start from scratch. And so I walked over to the CEO's assistant at Better Place, whose name I had heard from a mutual friend, sent her my resume with a very strong and convincing introduction - that I would be willing to work for the company in ANY capacity. You can't say no to strong will. After a few weeks of emailing and interviews, I got the INTERNSHIP at the company that I had dreamed to work for 2 years before I decided to go to Israel!
Day 1 of the INternship: Interns should approach employers to discuss if they will pay for transportation. If not, MASA will cover the cost
Day 57 of my Internship: The question of who is paying for my transportation has not yet been decided
Bottom Line - Israeli companies are confused by us interns. We left our jobs to work for free? On day 57 of my internship, I am still waiting to get payments for my bus rides - but at the same time, I would have NEVER had the chance to learn about one of the most exciting companies in Israel from the executives of the company if I didn't enter the company as an intern. S
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