‘An internship can alter your life,’ everyone who has ever done a meaningful internship will tell you.
Sanjeev and Rajeev, you have both been selected by Google HR executives. Please explain why I should employ you.
Sanjeev, I have fantastic marks, two presentations, one department project, a reference letter, and an exceptional co-curricular.
Rajeev, I did all of that, plus a summer internship at Microsoft.
Google HR for Rajeev You’ve been recruited!
We realise it was a genuinely poor, little story (and we pledge to fire our Editor-in-Chief for it), but it highlights one very essential truth – the importance of an internship in one’s career.
What exactly is an internship?
Feed this inquiry to Google, and it will return – ‘An “internship” is a temporary position provided by a company to prospective workers known as “interns” for a certain length of time.’
To put it simply, it is a job before the real work, a sneak peak inside your career before it begins. You will go to the office (unless you take a work-from-home internship), you will have actual duties, you will develop new skills and use your present ones (if any), and you will get paid (generally). Isn’t it fantastic?
Why should you take an internship now?
Again, I’ll break it down into five basic points:
- Because job experience counts 44 out of 100 companies appreciate relevant work experience more than any other qualification when hiring (Source : The Chronicle of Higher Education). Furthermore, gaining experience can boost your confidence during any job interview.
- Because it enables you to use classroom information in real-life scenarios — Internships allow you to utilise and enhance your knowledge base by applying it in situations where the consequence is not the amount of marks you get in an exam but something that may influence a whole corporation.
- Because many students are unsure of what they want, internships may be utilised to identify, or perhaps discover, what you would be excellent at. Assume you were employed as a marketing intern at a firm and were introduced to content writing (marketing via articles), which you like and may consider making a career out of.
- Since it opens numerous doors ” Your prior internship mentor may put in a good word for you with your new job because she knows her. Similarly, an internship may open several opportunities for you. A recommendation letter might also help in certain cases.
- You might earn college credit and perhaps money Many institutions, in response to industry demands, now require internships. Working at the workplace rather than preparing for a theoretical paper is much superior, isn’t it? You will also earn pocket money during your college days. What a fantastic idea!
When should you consider doing an internship?
Whenever you have time! Companies employ interns all year, but most students pursue internships during the summer and winter holidays since there are no examinations and fewer academic activities. Many students even undertake internships all year; work-from-home internships may be a fantastic experience!
If you are still looking for more career advice, click here.
