All About Internships

A combination of stellar GPA, grand recommendations and astounding cover letter is not enough; you need something more! Experience of an internship under the belt would give you an edge over other contenders while applying for a job.

When an individual is hired for a full time job, it is usually expected of him to handle the tasks at hand. But the case of fresh graduates is slightly different. The employer might be a little lenient and may not mind a barrage of your questions. But he would not like you to be a blank canvas. A candidate with some real life experience would be favored as the employer would not want to teach him everything from scratch.

Let’s investigate why an internship is important.

The Importance of an Internship

The Educational Requirement:

Sometimes, colleges and universities make it mandatory for the students to get some real world experience through summer jobs and internships. In some cases, universities and colleges collaborate to provide students with internship opportunities.

The Economic Aspect:

The companies are not just being nice by offering students internships and preparing them for the real world. There is definitely something for them in it.

In this downturn of economy, every company and employer tries to find financially efficient ways to manage the business. These circumstances have cut down the full time employment in the job market but it has become a golden opportunity for the students and people who seek experience. Many companies hire interns to manage puny tasks and save buckets of bucks.

Advantages for the Interns:

Following are the advantages that one can garner from an internship.

• You can effectively test your career choice. For example, would you be happier in customer service or human resources management? An internship can greatly help to opt for the right career path.
• A good network and public relations can play an imperative role in developing your career. An internship gives the opportunity to connect with people who might play a pivotal character in your career.
• You will learn how to move in a professional environment. Real world is quite different from college.
• While applying for your first full time job, an internship will make sure that you can survive and produce results in environments other than the college setting.

Finding an Internship

It now becomes clear that an internship can give you unimaginable benefits. Now the question of finding and getting an internship comes up.

Check Your Own Backyard:

While many students will keep an eye on every internship and training opportunity that comes up in the newspapers and the online job markets, they usually forget to look into the opportunities that are lying around them.

• A career counselor might seem like a useless person but he actually can kick start your professional career. Take time out to visit him. He might guide you towards upcoming opportunities and offers. A career counselor might go out of the way to get ‘his’ students a good internship. Don’t overlook his potential!
• It might seem highly unlikely, but family can also become a bridge between you and a potential employer. Parents’ friends can become quite resourceful.
• Your former teachers are in the same field as you are but they are definitely much more experienced and they know the right people. Talk to them about an internship and you might end up getting one!

When to start?

Be precipitous about applying for internship positions. Most companies announce the vacancies early in the year but their plans coincide with the general college schedules. Start looking for positions well before the summer vacation.

If your application happens to be one of the first few ones to arrive at the desk of recruitment, it shows that you are efficient and genuinely interested in the position. Your chances of landing the internship will drastically increase.

Potential Employers:

While for-profit organizations and multinational companies offer ideal internships, they are highly competitive to pull off.

Check out the opportunities that non-profit and trade organizations provide. They might not offer you the best turn over but they are easier to get. Such organizations can give you a better chance to test your skills and improve your expertise. These companies have minimal staff and hence you can get an opportunity to do some ‘real’ work.

Paid and unpaid Internships

The trend of unpaid internships is growing by leaps and bounds. The foremost reason is that the market is saturated with individuals who will gladly jump on any internship opportunity that comes their way.

While many analysts view unpaid internships as unreasonable and exploiting, they are still widely accepted. The reason is that the students and young professionals require experience more than anything. The experience and references they get serve them well in future. Due to these reasons, people take up unpaid jobs although they are made to work full time!

There are paid internships as well but they are tremendously hard to come by as they are very competitive.

Lessons you won’t learn at college

School is a simple story. You work hard and you get desirable grades. But corporate world is another case that is inconceivable for students or young graduates.

The principles of success that we have followed since kindergarten do not apply anymore; there is more to the workplace than simply working hard and meeting the expectations. We never learn corporate at college, these steps can help you succeed in a professional environment.

Market yourself:

Every professional should develop the art of marketing himself. Show your best side to the corporate world. Market your professional and competent face.

Ascertain lucrative relationships:

Powerful business networks are one of the most useful tools in the corporate world. Establish relationships when you are working on a project or towards a mutual goal and establish networks while having a lunch break. Hence networking is something that you should do round the clock.

Stay motivated:

The real world is very challenging and can become ridiculously bothersome. You would need to develop a temperament that allows to plunge yourself in a demanding situation. Starting every new day with a positive outlook will help you achieve your goals and gather loads of professional friends.

Remain Proactive:

Most employees will want you to meet the expectations and do your work efficiently. But you would certainly want more! Go an extra mile to impress people.

Think out of the box. Propose possible solutions to the problems that don’t even concern you. Work harder than expected and demonstrate that you can do better than people’s expectations.

Test your skills:

Find or create opportunities to test your skills. For instance, if you are working towards a degree in journalism, ask your boss to provide you with an opportunity to write a press release or some content for their website.

Turning your internship into a full time job:

Internships provide experience, confidence and opportunity to build up relationships. But they can provide something more than that as well. Many apt young professionals turn their internships into full time jobs.

If you provide an excellent specimen of your work, show admirable work ethics and demonstrate an eagerness to do great work, the company might end up offering you a permanent spot as soon as you wind up your education.

If you don’t get a full time job, you still have garnered enough skills that you will not find it hard to hit upon your first job. You can cleverly put to use the networks that you have acquired during the internship.

Internships have become crucial for the launch of a career. They are a student’s first sneak peek into the corporate world which is not at all like the mundane life at college. These jobs prepare the individuals for what waits for them in the future.

Thanks & Regards,

"Remember Me When You Raise Your Hand For Dua"
Raheel Ahmed Khan
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