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So this question needs a bit of backstory, bear with me.
I'm about to apply for a traineeship at a company that has multiple vacancies, including traineeships and internships (in Germany those are two seperate things). However, the job advertisement for this traineeship is posted on an external job postings website, whereas it does not appear on the jobs section on the company's own website. I called the company and the person that answered my call said they were 'not sure' if the posting is still up to date, but that they hadn't filled any of the currently available positions yet and I should go ahead and apply.

Based on this I am not convinced that this position is in fact still available. However, they have another job posting on their website with the same job title and a similar description that only differs in that it is posted as an internship, not a traineeship. While I would rather get the traineeship, I would also be happy with the internship should the former already have been filled. So, I'm thinking about writing an application for the traineeship and mention that I would be interested in the internship as well, in case the traineeship is not available any more.

Is this a good idea? I see a couple of potential downsides:

  • It might make me look undecisive.
  • It might make me appear less confident in my own abilities (since a traineeship is a higher-rated position than an internship, at least in this case).
  • They might consider me only for the internship, not for the traineeship.

The obvious upside is that if the traineeship position is already gone, I might still have a chance to get the internship. I'm not sure what to do, some advice would be appreciated (preferably from someone who has been on the other side of the hiring process)!

Sidenote: Maybe it is better to write an application for the traineeship only, wait for their reply and only ask about the internship if they tell me the traineeship position has been filled already?

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  • i wouldn't say that it necessarily makes you look bad; it's not unusual to apply for multiple positions in the same company, and sometimes they ask you if you did on your forms. If one position is above the other, though, then there are indeed other questions to be answered.
    – TheSoundDefense
    Apr 12, 2017 at 16:06
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    Just apply to both positions and see what happens. It generally doesn't hurt when someone applies to multiple positions.
    – Chris G
    Apr 12, 2017 at 16:07
  • @TheSoundDefense What do you mean by ask me if I did on their forums? Well as I wrote, as far as I can tell they are similar positions in terms of field, just with a different scope
    – MoritzLost
    Apr 12, 2017 at 16:08
  • @ChrisG Do you mean I should apply for both positions seperately or just state outright that I would be interested in either position in a single application?
    – MoritzLost
    Apr 12, 2017 at 16:09
  • @MoritzLost I meant on your application forms. I've seen that sometimes with large companies.
    – TheSoundDefense
    Apr 12, 2017 at 16:13

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You can apply to both positions separately and answer in the interview the specifics indicating that you want to work for them and the trainee job is there, but if you can't get into the trainee job you still like their company and wouldn't mind taking an internship to prove your worth to the company.

In general I think it communicates more that you are interested in the company a lot and not so much about your qualifications as those are the same for both job applications. The company will assess you and figure out where you would best fit for them.

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