An internship is an opportunity offered to eligible beginners by an employer, to develop and refine skills. You gain experience in the working environment and prepare yourself to stand out as a potential candidate. Internship lays the foundation of the beginning of a successful career easing the way into the tough learning curve. The world we live in is full of competition and challenges with people chasing jobs with degrees in their hands. There are multiple factors that work together to get you a decent job that suits your skills, desire, and eligibility. The factors include good theoretical knowledge, dedication, a decent degree from a good institution, hard work, persistence, etc. But what helps one stands out of the crowd is having experience at the beginner level itself through internships.
The experience of an internship plays an equally important role as the other factors and also bring other huge benefits along with preparing the beginners for their future and also tell them what to expect from their future and what their future expects from them. There are many platforms that help students to apply for internships according to their skills and interests like Internshala, Letsintern, Youth4work, etc., and many different types of internships- paid, unpaid, work, research, and many more. Choosing a good internship helps in excelling as well as contribute to further growth.
The following points establish the fact that the role of internship in a career is unquestionable-
Building your CV
Curriculum Vitae or CV is an overview of the professional and educational history of a person, that plays a very crucial role in job hunting. It consists of the details about education, accomplishments, papers or books published (if any), original research work, and work experience in the form of internships. Thus, internships help in building your CV with a value-added point like a letter of recommendation and substantially catch the hiring manager’s eye making you a better-qualified candidate for the position you applied for.
A bonus point
If there are people holding the same degree as you, competing for the same job you want, having prior working experience would definitely give you an edge in the competition. Hence, having an internship or two under your belt is always a good idea.
A mock ride for a real job
The environment of a job is different from your college. There are many things that you can learn or mug up from the books, scoring good grades but the practical implementation of the theoretical knowledge can never be learned from a piece of paper. Teamwork, dealing with coworkers, interview skills, meeting deadlines by time management, etc. can only be learned when you step your feet in the working world, learn by doing the office work and deal with the day-to-day challenges that professional life offers.
Room for improvement and learning from mistakes
Some internships follow the mentor-mentee method by allocating the new intern with a mentor or guide who teach, deal with queries, cross-check for faults and improve the overall work of the mentee and also developing interpersonal skills. Feedbacks really help to understand where one is lagging and find room for improvement to get better. Experiencing this first hand in internship molds you to be better-fit for a decent job and a successful career instead of struggling in your first job itself.
Image by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay
Learn what you really want
The best part about a part-time internship is that it gives an individual a plethora of choices. Freedom to choose what is best for one by working for a small period of time. It provides a learning ground without completely tying them for a long period of time. Searching for a dream job and getting to dip the feet in all the different segments is what makes the experience of internship invaluable. To eliminate the dilemma and choose an appropriate career, one can work and experience the industry environment with the help of an internship and decide whether it is the kind of career path they want by switching to new challenges and experimenting. It is like a trial match- giving freedom to try everything without fear and making the most out of it.
Rewards for your work
Isn’t it a cherry on top of the cake? Some companies offer paid internships along with the golden opportunity to learn about the professional working environment, improve skills and help you with your expenses while getting you acquainted with the “work culture”. Thus, learning becomes more interesting, financially helping, and motivating for the students. However, it is advisable not to chase money and figures but focus on building yourself.
Internships and jobs go hand in hand
If an intern satisfies the requirement of the assigned job, meeting deadlines, proving to be productive, and giving the best for the period of time that one applied for, some organizations even provide an offer down the line, an opportunity to work as a permanent employee or help in grabbing the job opportunity by recommending you to higher professionals. Either way, you get closer to score the job.
Stay in touch
Internships help you grow your network, give exposure to get recommendations from professionals by getting the best out of your skills and get more job opportunities on the basis of your hard work, and getting in touch with more professionals by impressing them with your sheer hard work. Staying connected to as many people from your desired industry as possible is beneficial in the long run.
What not to do-
- Do not take internships as a burden or doing for the sake of a “mandatory requirement”. Understand the objectives and treat it as an opportunity to learn and grow for your own future. Score high grades in theory as well as practical. Pull up your socks and set the benchmark of your career. Being responsible for the work assigned to you helps you in the long run.
- The process of finding an internship can be time-consuming and even cumbersome with rejections due to the heavy competition. The key is to never lose hope and believe in oneself. The opportunities are right around the corner, keep looking.
- Refrain from choosing an internship that is irrelevant to the academic career you are pursuing. Be smart to choose the correct internship and get the best out of the experience. Moreover, if you did not fit in an internship, you would know what kind of job you do not aspire for. It would prevent you from accepting an ill-fitting job in the future.
All the Best
Equip yourself with enthusiasm, responsibility, maturity, positive attitude, innovation, skills, experience, and get the best out of your time instead of sitting idle at home. Never lose an opportunity that is willing to build your career. Embrace your mistakes that you would not repeat in the jobs later, and take another step for building a successful career.
