Why Internships Are So Useful to Graduates
Internships are programs and placements that are developed by certain companies and offered to recent college or university graduates. If you are studying part time, you may even be able to secure an internship in your last year of studies. But why have internships become so popular and how can a recent graduate benefit from one? Read on for more!
Earn an extra notch on your CV
By the time you and your class graduate, you will all have the same qualification. So nothing really sets you apart individually. This makes for major competition in the work force when it comes to actually securing a job. Often the applied for positions will go to more charismatic personalities or those who are willing to take on lower salaries. However, internships can really separate the cream of the crop. The majority of the time, an employer would rather hire someone who already has proven success in real life situations.
[bctt tweet=”an employer would rather hire someone who already has proven success in real life situations.”]
You may be able to earn some money
Not all internships offer a salary, but there are some that do provide small earnings. You may be able to land an internship with a company willing to pay a small salary, but if not; you can negotiate for petrol money, parking expenses and so on so that you don’t land up actually losing money just to be there.
[bctt tweet=”You may be able to land an internship with a company willing to pay a small salary”]
Learn practical skills
Sure, you know all the theory behind the processes through your studies, but practical experience is a whole new ball game. Not only this, but certain industry skills and processes may not have been explained to you in your text books. Through internships, you gain massive practical experience before entering the work place which will make you more proficient at your job.
[bctt tweet=”Through internships, you gain massive practical experience before entering the work place”]
Gain confidence in your skills
In the same vein, continuous practice at practical tasks will allow you to build confidence in your abilities. This way you will feel confident taking on a paying position and will feel confident in explaining your skills to potential employees. Internships offer the opportunity to embrace mistakes, ask questions, identify weaknesses and refine them. All of this builds a confidence that you cannot gain from your studies.
Network with professionals in your field of interest
It is true that it’s not “what you know but who you know”! Internships offer invaluable opportunities to make connections with working professionals currently on your desired career path that can point you in the right direction, put in a good word for you at their companies, or possibly even hire you in the future!
[bctt tweet=”It is true that it’s not “what you know but who you know”!”]
Test the waters
Even if your internships is terrible, at least you have learned what you don’t like or what you don’t want to do. Most people only learn this a few months into a paid placement where they land up making bad names for themselves in their industry of interest. Through internships you can establish where and how you would most like to operate and serve a company.
Click here to view a list of intership jobs.