Internships: Bonkers or Brilliant?
I have something to say that’s driving me batty. It’s regarding graduates who fuss about not getting a job they like or not getting a job at all for that matter. Blah blah di blah…
Let me ask you something. Imagine a small town like ours with a limited number of companies, looking for limited vacancies to fill. There are thousands of graduates leaving universities each year hunting for a job too. How the heck would a pissed-off HR director filter out from that titanic pool a few lucky folks, including YOU?
Of course, any sane HR director would only choose the BEST and most qualified of the lot, true? Yes. True. Otherwise, he’d be DOOMED to lose his job if he hired a slacker.
Anyhow, back to the issue of unemployment. If you’re a student or have graduated, it’s never too late to remedy the problem. How? Internships!
An internship is basically a training program designed for students to help them polish their skills and give them a taste of the real-world, without too much pressure. Internships have the following advantages:
- Develop your skills, (related to your major)
- Testing theory learned in university courses in real working environment
- Gaining insight at a real working environment, its demands, and its responsibilities
- Improving your communication skills
- Providing you with pay (some companies)
- Boosting your confidence
- Enhancing your CV
- Networking with professionals (good contacts for the future)
- Time management
- Showing initiative and ambition from your behalf
- Gives you a taste of the working environment, without much pressure
- Early kick-start at your career
- Makes you more mature and responsible
- Personal satisfaction at accomplishing tasks
- Etc.
Sounds exciting! And yes, when employers study your CV, believe me, they will be impressed by your initiative. It’s the attitude you’re exuding to them that makes you valuable. So, it’s never too late to start carving your path from now.
Now if you’re interested, I suggest you sit down, and put a list of all the companies that you would like to work for (preferably related to your major). Then, ask the Career Services Manager at your university to contact one of the companies to organize an internship program for you. Similarly, you could contact the HR director and request an internship with the company for a couple of months.
And believe me, when you graduate, it will all come back to you! You will stand out amid the crowd. What goes around comes around. Good luck!
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