Study: Finding an internship in Nice is sometimes an uphill battle

Caught between competition, unanswered applications and limited offers, Nice students sometimes struggle to secure their apprenticeship. In audiovisual, communication or digital, some multiply their efforts to find a company.

Anthony Mearelli, a student in audiovisual at Studio M, in Nice, experiences this firsthand. Since February, he estimates he has made between 60 and 70 approaches to companies. Emails, unsolicited applications, in-person prospecting, referrals and even phone calls: the young man has tried different methods to find his apprenticeship.

Among all these solicitations, he claims to have received only about ten responses and just three interviews, which all resulted in rejection.

Faced with this succession of negative responses, his search gradually expanded. Initially looking for opportunities in film and advertising productions, particularly in Nice and Paris, Anthony then multiplied his options: catering, communication, community management, even accepting assignments far from his initial project. « I’ll take anything », he sums it up, while continuing to favor film and advertising professions.

An increasing number of students facing limited offers

For Pierre Brosseau, manager of a digital agency based in Monaco, this difficulty is explained in particular by the attractiveness of the Côte d’Azur. The region attracts many young people, particularly in fields such as digital, marketing and audiovisual, sectors that are attracting more and more students.

According to him, the problem also lies in the gap between the number of candidates and the real needs of companies. Some organizations would prefer profiles that are already experienced rather than spending time training a young person at the beginning of their career. « We’re going to hire people who already have experience », he explains to describe this logic.

This observation aligns with Anthony’s, who mentions another imbalance: the large number of students trained in audiovisual and communication schools compared to available jobs.

This competition is particularly visible in professions related to social media, where companies can now produce some of their content themselves thanks to relatively accessible tools.

The cost of apprenticeship, a barrier that doesn’t convince all employers

Another difficulty noted by Anthony: hiring assistance schemes for apprentices are sometimes unknown to the companies he contacts. He explains having regularly had to present them with the aid they could claim. According to him, this lack of awareness can constitute an additional barrier to recruitment.

Pierre Brosseau, for his part, does not consider the cost of apprenticeship as a major obstacle for his agency. He recalls that public aid can help reduce the expense for companies and considers hiring a young person as an investment in their development, beyond just economic return.

In his agency, apprenticeship also has a very practical advantage: availability. A student present in the company for a large part of the month helps speed up filming and editing and increases the team’s production capacity.

Target your applications

While students may be tempted to send dozens or even hundreds of applications, Pierre Brosseau advocates a different approach. Rather than multiplying requests without real targeting, he advises to select a few companies that truly match your professional project and build a more personalized approach.

He believes it would be more appropriate to target « three or four very solid options » and show these companies a real desire to join them. A strategy that would, according to him, help avoid the accumulation of rejections and the discouragement that can result from it.

For Nice students, the search for an apprenticeship is therefore not just about sending a CV. It sometimes involves significantly broadening your criteria, directly approaching companies and dealing with a highly competitive market.