Top Tips on Becoming an Intern at adidas

The role of internships should never be underestimated: They can give you the step into a company you need to kickstart your career by offering on-the-job-experience, the chance to prove yourself in a real-life working environment and the opportunity to start building your professional network. Given this, it’s important to know how to apply for an internship at adidas, increasing your chances of being successful. Being responsible for the internship program at our global headquarters in Herzogenaurach, today I will tell you a little bit more about the how, when and where.

Most of our internship opportunities are based at the birthplace of our company’s founder Adi Dassler in Herzogenaurach, Germany; however, we also offer a great number of internships at various locations across the globe. These are always advertised on our career site.

Diversity is truly important to us and we emphasize this also on an internship level. In 2018, a total of 47% of our interns in Germany were non-German, with a gender split of 54% female to 46% male. You will meet interns with different backgrounds, bringing a variety of experience as well as different mindsets.

Our interns usually stay for 6 months and the reason is quite simple: in 6 months you can get a great learning experience and additionally take on responsibility for own projects, which would not be possible if you only stay with us for a few weeks.

In Herzogenaurach, each year we hire two generations of interns, the first starting in March, the second starting in September. During your internship, adidas offers a variety of events such as an introduction day and career information days that will give you insights into future career opportunities within adidas. Additionally, there are networking/fun events such as BBQs, sports tournaments and a speaker series.

We start recruiting 3-6 months ahead of the starting date. If there’s nothing immediately available in your area of interest, you can create a search agent. The search agent will inform you automatically as soon as new positions are published.

If you plan to apply for one of our internships, you should consider the following:

1. Carefully read the job description and profile requirements and ask yourself: “Do I fulfill these?”
2. Prepare your online application including CV, cover letter and references. If you need help just check one of our previous articles about tips and tricks for the online application.
3. Submit your application online and wait for feedback.

As we wish our interns to be creative with their application documents, we also try to make our recruitment process as creative as possible, so watch out for application tasks we might ask you to complete.

Once you have uploaded your application online – and if your profile meets the requirements – the first step is a virtual interview with one of our recruiters. If you´re successful in the first round, the hiring manager will contact you to arrange a final interview. This interview can be either via phone/skype or a live interview. We always try to provide you with feedback as soon as possible; however, sometimes it might take a little longer due to vacations or business trips.

You might think there is tough competition for internship positions at adidas and this is somewhat true, as we do receive a lot of applications. However, if you meet the profile criteria and submit a complete application you will definitely have a good chance to get the role.

At adidas, we believe an internship is the ideal opportunity for students to apply their theoretical knowledge from university in the business world. With that in mind, one key requirement is that you complete your internship during your studies and that you are fully enrolled at university for the entire duration. If you have already graduated from university, you should check out the graduate section on the adidas career website or consider one of our entry-level positions or the trainee programs we offer.

An internship with adidas is truly an exceptional and inspiring experience. Not only will it look good in your CV, you will also have the chance to work in one of the world´s most creative companies. As an intern you will be able to take part in all our events, company sports courses and trips, as well as benefiting from the employee product discount. So you’d better come with an empty suitcase as it is sure to be full of cool adidas or Reebok stuff when you leave.