Mitzi Ilagan | ExecutiveChronicles.com
In the Philippine setting, internships usually take place during a college student’s senior year. Most students either feel excited or nervous as they step away from the school environment and head on to something more serious and “real.” Internships are like real-life drills on what you’re going to do after graduation. And just like real jobs, internships means a lot more than what we think before applying for one.
- You’ll know how the “real world’ works.
In college, we all jokingly scare ourselves about how intimidating the real world is. We say that we could be employed in tall buildings. We’d have to commute and endure the traffic, and then have a strict boss who won’t let us use Facebook in office hours. During internships, you’d get first-hand exposure on things that you only hear about. It won’t be easy to transition from being a student to a working adult, so internships would help you adjust to changes in your life. The jobs which will be given to you may not be as major as what employees do, but those tasks will surely give you an idea of what you’ll do when you get a job.
- You’ll have connections.
We’re sure you’ve heard of this term. You may be skeptical about this, but all you have to do is reach out. In the real world, you’ll never get to have what you want if you are too shy. Make friends with the people around you and respect the people who you’ll be working with. In that way, you could create a network which you could use when you get a job. But you have to remember not to use this people as to take advantage of them, but to get the best out of both you and them (or the company).
- You’ll get to have a valuable and interesting resume.
If you couldn’t speak for yourself, then your resume will. So, you’d have to make it something worth the time, especially by the HR. Getting into a relevant internship will be beneficial for your credentials because it’ll be a guide on what they think you could do. It won’t be enough to list your skills down on that piece of paper. And internships doesn’t necessarily require applying for a known company, but if possible, internships in familiar or established companies could lead to positive outcomes.
- You’ll get to discover a part of yourself.
School and workplace are two different worlds. When you were just a student, you could just skip classes or take group projects casually. But during internship, you’ll get to discover that it’s a tough world out there. You’ll get to learn that you could adapt through ways that you haven’t thought about when you were in college. Also, internships is a crucial stage because from that experience, you’d get to realize your chosen path for work. It’ll be a good guide on what kind of job you would like to head for in the future.
- You’d get to be paid.
While some companies give perks to their interns, some also give monetary allowances. It is not necessarily a requirement in finding a company for your internship, but of course, who would say no to allowance? It’ll be a good start for you to learn how to save up in the future. Also, for those who have applied for internships far from their hometown, it”ll be your financial assistance for your basic needs.
