Benefits of Internships And Its Impact On Career Prospects
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”Ralph Waldo Emerson
Introduction
The benefits of internships are a major takeaway during one’s career journey. Internships are an immediate practical application of the knowledge you acquire during your course. The benefits of internships become evident upon completion and when starting a career. An internship trains you with the additional skills, knowledge, and discipline you must follow while at work.
In this article, we’ll be discussing why are internships important and how to make your experience worth the time.
What Is An Internship
An internship is a career-oriented learning experience between their current educational level and career. It helps them put theoretical knowledge into practice.
Is an internship a job? No, Internships are not jobs; rather, they prepare students for the duties and responsibilities they need to fulfill through upskilling and training.
Benefits of Internships
Here are some of the benefits of internships for your career journey:
Provides work experience
A common question among graduates is, Do internships internship count as work experience?’ Yes, they do. Entering a job immediately on course completion has a major risk. You may not have all the necessary skills and the training may take extra time. An internship provides you exposure to time management, task management and improves your communication for a job.
Improves knowledge
One of the major benefits of internships is that they help you learn conveniently and deeply. Interning with a well-known organization helps you develop some important skills. Communication, problem-solving, and management are some skills that courses often don’t cover. Therefore, an internship teaches and helps you master these skills.
Builds research skills
Why are internships important?’ It is because internships help build essential research skills, which are particularly valuable for careers like data analysis. Students can improve these skills by working as an intern in a well-known firm.
Access to resources
One of the benefits of internships is that they offer access to the organization’s resources. This helps the students understand the tools, software, and platforms that similar industries use.
Sets career goals
The internship experience helps students clarify their career goals better. In other words, when a student works as an intern, they need to fulfill the job roles and responsibilities. Hence, it is one of the major advantages of an internship that students get to decide what type of job to go for by the end of their experience.
Creates professional network
During an internship, you may have to interact with the senior employees of the firm. Connecting with them over LinkedIn, Monster, and Indeed are one of the benefits of internships for placements.
Boosts resume
An essential reason why are internships important is that they boost your resume quality. Additional training and feedback from your internship strengthen your professional profile.
Helps in career growth
Here’s another reason why are internships important in your career journey. Employers are more interested in knowing your career journey than your career growth. Since internships serve as early work experience, choose one that aligns with your career goals.
Steps to Apply For an Internship
Here are the essential steps to apply for an internship:
Decide your internship type
Most students come up with the question, ‘Can you get an internship after college?’. The answer is yes! First, make a list of long-term and short-term goals that you wish to achieve through your internship. There are many types of internships like paid internships and unpaid internships. Paid internships offer a stipend during your training period for your services.
List the best organizations
To find the best organizations, first, you must have a well-defined set of goals. Secondly, stay active on the top job search sites. Also, use the filters of job search portals to confirm the places or firms you wish to work with. Thirdly, connect with some of the employees working with the firm or previous interns. Ask them about some of the internship experiences. The last but the most important thing to do is to create a list of the best organizations, and your evaluations. Reading through them helps you choose the best out of the one’s you’ve listed.
Get an internship request
The third thing to do is to be proactive and send an internship request to the organizations. You can do this by visiting the organization’s website and sharing your resume. Make sure to add your contact details and share your requirements with the hiring managers.
Create a standard resume
One of the major advantages of internship is that it helps you boost your resume. If you’re not sure how to build a great tech resume, read up on the internet, check the best sites, and start right away!
Stay active on job search sites
There are plenty of job search sites that allow you to find the best internship opportunities worldwide. These sites also help you filter your choices based on location, job type, availability, and academic background. So, to get the best benefits of internships, create your profiles on these job search sites, fill in the necessary details, and keep the alerts on.
Follow-up your applications
The last thing to do to confirm your internship is to follow up on your application status. This is because there are hundreds like you looking for the best benefits of internships. To confirm your slot, keep sending reminder emails or connect with the recruiters in person.
Why Are Internships Important?
Internships are an important part of your career because:
Internships are job training
Your internship experience counts as pre-job training familiarizing you with roles and responsibilities. But if asked ‘Does an internship count as employment?’, it varies from firm to firm. While some firms offer you just the training, some offer placements with good pay.
Improves domain knowledge
Interning with a company also means improving your knowledge about the field you choose to work in. Gaining knowledge from work processes, teammates, and software at work is one of the benefits of internships. This knowledge that you gain during this interning time becomes helpful when you finally start working for an organization.
Grows your professional network
Students often ask, ‘Are internships jobs?’ No, but the professional network you build during internships helps find better job opportunities. The suggestions and recommendations of these professionals may assist in getting placed in a well-paying firm.
Help in self-evaluation
The tasks, timings, and team activities of the internship help you evaluate how well you perform as an employee. This is also one of the benefits of an internship where an intern can differentiate between their past and present knowledge.
Enhances your soft-skills
Another one of the major advantages of internship is that it helps improve soft skills like communication, problem-solving, and negotiation. This happens through constant rapport with the team.
Teaches work-life balance
Working as a part of an organization most importantly teaches work-life balance and brings discipline. This also one of the benefits of internships that few know about. During your internship, you simultaneously get the feel of working and learning.
Skills Learnt During Internships
Some of the most important skills learned during internships are:
One of the benefits of internships is that they help you improve your language and boost your confidence.
Through an internship, you learn how to organize yourself and plan your day and activities.
Another one of those benefits of internships is that they also increase intern flexibility. This flexibility helps the aspirants to fulfill multiple roles and responsibilities simultaneously.
Another key point as to why are internship important is for the critical thinking space it offers. Internships make graduates think out of the box.
Internships teach how to work with an organization, and the rules to follow, and help interns become more responsible.
An internship experience not only helps in skill improvement but also helps in learning new concepts at work.
Impact Of Internship on Career
Why are internships important in a career? Here are some major reasons:
Skill Development:
One of the best benefits of internships is skill development. Internships improve building hard skills (technical), soft skills (behavioral), and management skills in the workplace.
Strong Networking:
Networks are also the benefits of internships in that they help build a strong professional network. The members of a social network can later become job references.
Strengthens Resume:
Having an internship experience means having sufficient knowledge and training in working as an employee. This improves the hiring process.
Soft Skill Enhancement:
Skill enhancements are the benefits of internships worth a lifetime. You can improve your communication skills, problem-solving, and analytical skills through an internship.
Strategizes job hunts:
One of the untold job hunt hacks is being a part of an internship. Most internships end with job offers as trainees with a decent pay scale. Therefore, if asked how many internships should I apply to? You may apply to any number of internships that add to your experience and knowledge.
Are Internships Paid
If asked ‘Are internships paid?’ there are both paid and unpaid internships. Whether an internship is paid or unpaid depends on your industry, market demand, and available opportunities.
Do Internships Increase Employability?
One of the less-known advantages of internship is that they increase employability. These opportunities expose aspirants to job roles, pay scales, and hiring trends. According to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 77% of paid internships provide full-time jobs than the 44% of unpaid internships.
Rules to Follow During An Internship
Looking for the best internship? Here are some rules to follow:
- Research: Understand their years of experience. Also get to know their products, projects, and major competitors.
- Know your roles and responsibilities: Rather than asking what is to be done at work, read through your job role. Clarify your concerns immediately. Carrying out your roles and respobsi
- Focus on SMART goals: Be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound in your tasks.
- Use available resources: Resources are the additional benefits of internships. Office training materials like online courses, reference websites, and webinars. Every additional knowledge counts for your next job.
- Take notes: Make it a habit to jot down small information worth knowing. These inputs will help you in your future job.
- Choose a mentor: Wherever you intern or work, find a mentor to guide you. Seek help from them to clarify your work-related concerns.
- Ask for a recommendation letter: Counting your internship experience and relationship with your employer, ask for a recommendation letter. This letter acts as a valid document in your job.
Conclusion
On the whole, an internship help improve knowledge about different skills, boost confidence, and strengthen professional networks too. However, to let your employers know your practical experience and get placed immediately, add your internship experience to your LinkedIn profiles. And without forgetting, ask for testimonials from your managers for a smooth career transition!
FAQs
Usually, one internship is enough to improve your skills and knowledge. On the other hand, some aspirants do up to four internships for better opportunities.
Yes, as long as you intern as a part of a reputed organization and gain some additional knowledge, internships are also employment.
Yes, you can easily get an internship after college related or unrelated to your course.
An internship lasts between eight to ten weeks but can be extended or cut short by the employer.
To maximize the benefits of internships, research well on the internship provider, follow the instructions at work, be regular, and take references from the employer.
