Internships are those opportunities offered by an employer to potential employees to work at a firm for a fixed, limited period of time. Interns are usually undergraduates or students, and most internships last for any length of time between one week and 12 months.
While a college degree gives an individual all the knowledge required to start working in his/her desired field, an internship provides with real time lessons. Getting into internships will not only give you hands on experience, but also helps you experience working conditions
Here are some tips to get the internship you want:
Get identified on Social Media: As most of the people these days are active on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc., it has become easy for employers to analyse candidates and filter them based on their company’s requirements. So make sure you are active on these platforms and post appropriate things to your profiles, because believe it or not, the employers are watching it all.
Networking: A majority of internships, at least 8 out of 10, are found via personnel connections like friends and acquaintances, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that ‘Networking is the foundation of landing up in good workplaces’. Attend networking events, hang out with people who are a part of the industry you are trying to break into, go to places where the industry folks hang out, getting acquainted and recommended would take time, but you’ll get these eventually.
Show your passion off: Most recruiters these days prefer passionate and worth people over those who come from reputed educational institutions. Show your passion off on your resume and more often than not it’ll help you land in the right place. This is true for every industry.
Discover your interest, know what you WANT and what NOT: Internships are like the gateways to industries. As you land yourself in a company and start working on the work assigned to you, you’ll start discovering what is it that you intend to do in a particular industry. It also helps you decide whether or not you like your work and whether you are in the right place. Interning for various sectors will help choose better, as this way one can discover what he/she is passionate about.
Focus on learning, better jobs will follow: If you are a student and still pursuing a course at any level of education or if you still have a few years to go, your focus must be on learning. While you are interning, acquire as much knowledge as possible about the industry as you can. Learn what excites you about a particular job, learn what doesn’t excite you. Learn the skills required for landing up in the job you desire, concentrate on learning. The internship may lead to a job once you graduate, but learning should always come first.
No pay? No problem!: As an intern, not being paid is quite acceptable. If you like what you are doing, if you want to expand your forte in the company that you are interning for, going the unpaid route for a month or two to prove yourself isn’t a bad option because the primary goal of an intern should always be ‘acquiring skills’. Also make sure you get to a point where the company will start believing that they won’t be able to live without you if you end up leaving. If you get to that point, they will need to make you an offer and bring you on full time.
- Benefits of an InternshipOpportunity to work alongside professionals in your chosen career area
- Opportunity to see if the work atmosphere meets the expectations
- Learn new skills and add to your knowledge base
- Hands on knowledge about communication and teamwork skills
- Gain industry knowledge first hand from an organization and professionals
- Get the opportunity to meet new people and establishing a network of professional contacts, mentors, and references
- Advantage over other job applicants
- Potential for a full time job offer at the end of the internship based on your performance
Common challenges new interns face
- Not enough work
- Not enough direction
- Not enough feedback
- Your working hours are longer/ shorter than originally advertised
- You were promised reimbursement for expenses , but haven’t been compensated yet
- You’re given more busy work and less “real” work than anticipated
