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10 Reasons to Take College Internships
Most universities require their students to gain first-hand knowledge and experience in the real world through college internships or on the job trainings. It is a time when students get to test theory into action and portray their skills and talents in their chosen fields. Encompassed by an atmosphere that always feels professional and an environment that pushes you to adapt to the fast paced workplace of a real life establishment, this is where students take their first few flaps of flight into the real world.
As students are often enclosed from the realities of real life and the workplace they aim to enter due to them being in school for most of their lives, they lack the experience and knowledge needed to work in a real business environment. This is why college internships are highly recommended by universities as they do not wish to send inexperienced students into real business establishments without any experience beforehand. This will only damage the esteem of the students and the reputation of the university if the student inevitably fails.
What are internships all about?
Simply put, internships are supervised practical experience in a workplace usually done by a college student or graduate. They are assigned to help professionals and learn from the experience they had over the duration of the internship. The goal of the experience is sort of similar to that of a vaccine; they introduce students to a slightly milder version of the real working environment (with the guidance of a professional) in hopes that the students gain immunity, or in this case: experience, of that real working environment.
Reasons why you should do an internship
As broadly stated earlier in this article, internships are where students get to test theory into action. However, these are not the end for the benefits of taking an internship. Listed below are 10 reasons why you should do an internship:
1. Gives you first-hand working experience
The first and most obvious reason as to why you should do internships is that it enables you to gain first-hand working experience even before you graduate from university. It is rather difficult to gain work experience of the real world while you are still in college as you will be focused on your studies and most establishments do not hire undergraduates without any experience. However, with the help of internships, you can continue with your studying while still being able to gain experience to add to your resume.
The establishment you are conducting an internship on can also greatly affect the experience you gain, as some establishments are not as busy of fast paced as the others. However, it is fully up to the intern whether these experiences can be put to good use or will be washed down the drain.
2. Knowledge with working in a professional environment
It is quite difficult to adjust to a working environment full of adults and professionals as students often grow up in an environment surrounded by their peers. This is another reason why an internship can be a valuable learning experience for students and graduates alike. You become aware of the ins and outs of the field you are aiming for and also learn to properly interact with you soon-to-be work mates. This can help make you much more comfortable when the time comes that you will be hired in the said field.
3. Makes your resume more attractive
A resume is one of the best weapons you have to attract potential employers into hiring you, and what better way to make you resume look so much more attractive than to put your work experience in it. Work experience is something that most employers look for in their applicants and depending on the work experience you have, you can either make it to the employer’s shortlist or get your resume bundled up with the rest of the applicants.
4. Gain the ability to apply book-knowledge to real-life
To apply theory into action is a skill you need to master when you want to become successful in the real world. You can’t just expect to read a book about accountancy and suddenly become good enough at it that you can handle all the stress and pressure it comes with. You first need to learn accountancy through books or lectures and try to utilize those learning into action for you to become a successful accountant.
There is a whole world of difference from real life experience to the experience you think you have just by reading source material. Think of how the tutorials for embroidery make it look super easy, but without practice and experience, your embroidered flower pattern may end up becoming a flower with uneven and rough petals.
By gaining experience from internships, you have the opportunity to use what you have learned from books and lecture into actual and practical use. And if you fail the first few times, then you can reflect on where you did it wrong and work on improving it. It is better to make mistakes and learn while you are still an intern than to be cocky and mess up when you are a real employee.
5. Receive feedback
Another great benefit of internships is that you can receive feedback and advice from the professionals you are working with. This gives you an objective view of your overall performance as an intern and helps open your eyes to the areas you need to work on and improve. You also become aware of your strengths and good characteristics as most professionals will praise you for what you did well. You can also receive advice from these professionals on certain things that can prove useful to you when you yourself become a professional one day.
Feedback is something that you can only gain when you take an internship and allows you to become more aware of your strengths and weaknesses. Without feedback, you will continue to do the things you did wrong without even knowing that what you did was incorrect. This can often become a problem when you become a professional and still do those things incorrectly.
6. Know yourself better
Knowing yourself better is another important benefit of internships. As previously stated, internships allow you to become aware of your strengths and weaknesses. However, you also become aware of where extent of your abilities and whether you can improve them.
Knowing yourself better also allows you to work confidently in your future workplace and makes you aware of the things you can and cannot do. This is important as you can gauge the things or tasks which can help improve your skills, and the things that are too far off to reach yet.
7. Build confidence
Knowing yourself better is another important benefit of internships. As previously stated, internships allow you to become aware of your strengths and weaknesses. However, you also become aware of where extent of your abilities and whether you can improve them.
Knowing yourself better also allows you to work confidently in your future workplace and makes you aware of the things you can and cannot do. This is important as you can gauge the things or tasks which can help improve your skills, and the things that are too far off to reach yet.
8. Make a name in companies of interest
If the company you had an internship with is the company that you are aiming to be hired, then doing well in your internship there can do wonders to your reputation. As the professionals working for that company are now aware of the skills and knowledge you possess, you can easily make a name as the intern that did well and can leave a positive impression to the professionals working there. You can also have a higher chance of employment in that company as you are now a familiar face to the professionals working in the company.
9. Learn by watching
There is a saying that goes, “monkey see, monkey do”. And that saying goes accompanies full well the 9th benefit of internships which is learning the ropes of your chosen field by observing. Observation is one of humanities’ most powerful tools of learning as you can witness what specific tasks the professionals of your chosen field do and what to expect in that field.
You can then anticipate what you need to work on and what you need to prepare for when it is time to be employed in your chosen field. You also learn the basic skills needed to perform well in your chosen field which can give you a better chance of promotion and success.
10. Broaden your connections
One other benefit of internships is broadening your connections. In the current era, skill and knowledge are not the only things that get you hired anymore, there is also the use of connections to get you into an establishment. The more connections that you have the more chances of you finding an establishment to hire you after you graduate.
Connections are established by having a good relationship with the professionals you worked with during your internships. They can often put a good word to the interviewer about you, or better yet, if your connections include someone higher up, you can easily skip the interview and make it to the establishment’s shortlist.
Conclusion
While applying book knowledge into action is important to becoming a good intern, there will be no book knowledge to be turned into action if you lack the knowledge about your field of interest. And if you plan to learn more about your chosen field, then why not consider hiring a tutor?
Lucky for you, we have just the place to hire a suitable tutor for you: FamilyTutor. FamilyTutor is home tuition in Singapore that is capable of teaching even university level students. We offer subjects ranging from different levels of Math, Science, and different languages. We also make sure that our rates are at market value to give you quality tutoring services for a reasonable price.
Carelle
Carelle is a teacher who has been through the ups and downs of the teacher and learner life. She wishes for every learner to gain educational satisfaction that will help embody the people they want to be in the future.
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