Sample cover letter for Internship position at GIZ

Dear ___,

with reference to your vacancy for an intern for the special initiative „___" I would like to briefly express my interest and skills.

My name is ___, born on ____, and I just acquired an advanced master in human rights and democratisation at the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC) as one of the awarded graduates. In the course of the master programme, I put emphasis on asylum policy in Germany and the EU and dedicated the topic of my master thesis to attitudes towards asylum seekers. Prior to the master programme, I completed a six-week internship in the residence centre Grandhotel Cosmopolis in Augsburg, a success model for a centrally-located and well working refugee accommodation which was initiated by a civil society collective.

In 2014, I completed the Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Heidelberg with a final grade of 1.6. From the second semester on, I worked as a conflict researcher at the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research (HIIK) and after the first year I assumed the position of Head of the Working Group 'Asia and Oceania.' My tasks for the HIIK included conflict research, database application and writing reports in English. As head of a working group, I furthermore supervised conflict researchers, organized and chaired meetings and trainings, as well as carried out coordinative and editorial tasks.

As part of my bachelor studies, I completed a three-month internship with the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) where I was tasked with outlining the different outreach activities by local and international NGOs in relation to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, summarising the weekly progressions in the legal cases of ADHOC, filing proposals and budget reports to donors, and issuing articles and case studies on particular cases of human rights violations in Cambodia.

For the past year and a half I have been working as a media analyst and account manager for Media Matters International (MMI), a media monitoring company with focus on Asia and Europe. As account manager, I was responsible for maintaining good relationships with major clients like the World Health Organization, creating budgets, forecasts and schedules, as well as procuring new clients. As media analyst, I wrote and reviewed concise media reports for our clients.

I am still at the beginning of my career but I hope that my early track record speaks well about my work ethic, intellectual curiosity and in particular my keen interest in human rights and forced displacement. I am also seeking this internship opportunity because it is my biggest career goal to be able to apply my knowledge and skills as a permanent employee of the GIZ in the near future.

I would be delighted to attend an interview to prove my potential and eager interest in this internship. I am enclosing my CV as well as reference letters from ADHOC, HIIK and my human rights lecturer, ___, at the National University of Singapore.

Yours sincerely,