Careers at Christie’s
London internships
The programme
This is a six-month programme for the benefit of applicants with a genuine interest in art, business or a career in the art world. Successful applicants get to spend six months working within Christie’s, gaining an insight into the work of an international auction house, observing the day-to-day operations of the company and its role in the art world.
Responsibilities
Christie’s believes that experience is best gained through practical involvement in the activities of our departments. Interns will be asked to undertake a variety of tasks and projects throughout their time at Christie’s and these vary depending on the department's needs and where they are in their sale cycle.
Tasks may include (but are not limited to):
• Archiving
• Writing catalogue notes
• Research
• Managing libraries
• Helping to set up exhibitions
• Covering phones
• Specific projects
• Administration
Finer details
Interns are employed on a six-month, temporary contract with a one-month probationary period at the beginning of the programme. We pay our Interns the London Living Wage which is reviewed and updated regularly. Unfortunately, in order to allow others an opportunity to gain experience, we regret that Internships cannot extend beyond a total duration of 12 months.
The standard hours worked by Christie’s are 9am to 5pm, however many of Christie’s most exciting and interesting events and activities such as major sales and functions take place in the evenings. We strongly recommend that Graduate Interns become involved in these events, if possible, by taking an active role in their organisation.
Choice of department
Graduate Interns are allocated to a department depending on availability and their specified choice at application. Although we do everything in our power to place Interns in the department of their choice, this is not always possible due to the number of applicants and places available in those departments. Please be assured that wherever individuals are placed they will gain an overall insight into Christie's, whether it is in a specialist or business department.
Eligibility
We undertake a selection process based on formal criteria, the application form and an interview.
Examples of key criteria include:
• History of Art graduate (or other relevant major).
• Previous work experience, both voluntary and paid, within the art sector.
• Language skills (fluent in English plus one other European language).
• Client-facing experience.
Applicants will need to be eligible to work in the UK for the full length of the Internship for which they are applying. Unfortunately, we are unable to organise or support visa applications for individuals coming from abroad.
How to apply
To apply for an Internship at Christie’s, please click here. We regret that demand for Internships usually exceeds availability of places on the scheme.