What they are really asking

This is a yes-or-no question on the surface, but a one-word answer wastes it. If the answer is yes, the interviewer wants a short summary: where, how long, what you did. If the answer is no, they need to hear what you did instead to get real experience.

The mistake with "no" is to sound embarrassed and stop. Plenty of people couldn't do an internship because they needed paid work, lived far from the big companies, or had family to look after. None of that is a problem. What matters is that you can point to something that gave you similar experience: a part-time job, a project, volunteering, freelance work.

A shape that works

Answer, details, value. Say yes or no in the first few words. If yes, give the company type, the length and one thing you did. If no, name what you did instead in the same amount of detail. Then say in one sentence what that experience gave you for this job. Keep the whole answer under a minute; the interviewer can ask for more.

Model answers

Listen to how each answer is built, then make it yours.

Answer 1: yes, a finance graduate in London
Answer 2: no, a computer science graduate in Nairobi
Answer 3: yes, a teaching graduate in Kyoto

Check yourself

1What should a candidate without an internship do?
2Why should you give the yes or no in the first few words?

Practice · 3 min

Answer the question out loud with "Yes" or "Not a formal one, but" in your first sentence. Add where, how long and one thing you did, then one sentence on why it matters for the job. Record it and check that it stays under a minute.

Your recording stays on this device. Nothing is uploaded.

Say it today

Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.