People sometimes become a bit dubious when deciding whether or not to take an internship. Often, when freshly graduating, you lack enough experience to get a full-time permanent job, so internships, apprenticeships, and work experience are your only options.
However, we must stop looking at these negatively and think of everything we can gain from internships and work placements. They are often the best option for you because you want to get a feel for work without being thrown into the deep end straight away, and this provides you with the opportunity to learn and grow.
Here are five reasons you should take the internship and feel great about your decision:
1. To gain experience.
You lack experience, and this is the only way to get it. The best experience comes from internships because you can do a bit of everything! You get to see and experience the different roles that people play in certain companies and see working life from different perspectives. This is good to take into the working world with you because, at times, you will be asked to do various tasks involving different elements of the company. This way, you would have already had a go at things and understood how to multitask.
2. To have a better understanding.
An internship allows you to take time to understand your role, tasks, and the industry. Internships want you to leave knowing more than you came with, and this is most likely the outcome. Take this opportunity to understand each task you are given and every new tool you use. Write things down, ask questions and do things repeatedly to ensure you do everything with 100% effort.
3. Have the opportunity to learn and watch.
You can learn from the best during an internship. People will be watching over you and working closely with you on projects so that you have someone to look up to and a goal to work towards. Perhaps you will learn new skills from these people and new things about the industry and life that you didn’t know before. Communication and interaction are key, so ask plenty of questions and don’t hesitate to propose new ideas!
4. Gain the ability to put new things into practice.
You can try out new skills and tools without the pressure of being wrong. Internships are a time to experiment, and people who hire you for that internship know that. They expect you to learn from your mistakes and use this as motivation to get better at the things you were not so great at before! Take these new ideas and skills to your next job and find a way to incorporate them into any tasks you are given.
5. Build confidence.
Whether it be public speaking, giving presentations, or simply suggesting new ideas, internships will build your confidence which allows you to grow as both a worker and a person. Confidence is key because if you don’t believe in yourself…who will? There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance, so make sure you don’t cross it because no one likes an arrogant worker! Internships will help you to build confidence through practice which will also help in your personal growth. After all, practice makes perfect!
6. To get a feel for different industries.
Internships are usually for three to six months. This allows you to get a feel for different industries in a small period of time. If you spend three months in PR and then three months in marketing, you get to know the difference in content, how they work and why they work. This will help in your overall career path if you are unsure of what to do in the future or are stuck between 2 options. You also pick up a wider variety of skills when working in different industries, making you more attractive to employers and hiring managers!
7. To communicate.
Internships require you to work both individually and within a team. You learn to communicate in new ways to build professional working relationships with people of all ages. This is great because it allows you to be open to other people’s ideas and to get creative in a team in order to build better ideas and, ultimately, to build a better company.
Recently taken an internship and had a great experience? Let us know!
