This post is a product from the collaboration project that Andrew C. Abraham and myself started a few months ago.
By Andrew C. Abraham.- It’s intern season. Many of the companies that I’m speaking to now are so busy with interns during this summer. I personally don’t have any internships under my belt, but back when I was studying (over 5 years ago now) they weren’t common place. Any of the internships I did hear about through the grapevine were also unpaid. Amongst my group of friends, we were so relieved after final exams every semester, the last thing we wanted to do was work full-time. It’s good to see students nowadays are more ambitious and ready to forgo a 3 month fun-filled sabbatical to get their hands dirty in the corporate world.
There is such a demand for internships today that the field has become awfully competitive. While participating in a Careers Fair in Singapore in 2009, I recall so many first and second year students enquiring about internships. That sort of thing just wouldn’t happen in my day. It’s a signal of the increasingly competitive jobs landscape and how students are looking to get a foot in the door as early as possible.
I can’t extol the importance of internships enough, and how they can be instrumental in launching careers. Here’s why…
1. Foot in the Door – This is an obvious reason and probably the most important. If you undertake an internship with a company, you’re first in line to be offered a full-time position on graduation – Provided you haven’t violated any rules and demonstrated your capabilities well. In fact internships aren’t just for the student, they’re as much for the employer. It’s the very reason that companies offer interns positions in the first place, because they too are looking for solid talent in the future. Most of my friends in Singapore that have recently graduated are now employed in their interned organisations.
2. Helps you determine what you DON’T want to do – Just as much as giving you an insight into your potential chosen profession, internships are a great way to find out what you don’t want to be or the type of company you don’t want to work for. I remember undertaking a week’s stint at being a pharmacist for my work experience in Grade 10 (I know it’s not exactly the same thing but the fundamental concept is the same) and realising that I NEVER EVER want to be a pharmacist. It was a career that wasn’t suited to my interests, and I probably would have overdosed a patient carelessly 
. Often university students are so enamoured by a particular profession (perhaps due to prestige or glamour), that when they finally land that job after graduation, they become disillusioned as it wasn’t what they expected. Internships help you sift out careers you won’t enjoy, minimising the incorrect decisions later in life.
3. Networking Opportunity – Most university students think about networking in their final year or after graduation; it’s often seen as something older people do, not students. Well an internship provides you with the opportunity to network with professionals within your field earlier in life. The more people that you make connections with while interning at an organisation, the better your career prospects upon graduation.
4. Work Experience that beefs up your CV or Online Profile – Some students may choose to apply for positions at companies they haven’t worked at previously. An internship at another organisation therefore conveys the image that you’re an ambitious person but more importantly adds to your portfolio of skills and experience transferrable to other companies. Graduating students can find themselves in a dilemma sometimes when companies they apply for come graduation, require at least some work experience (about 6 months), but how do they get the experience if the company doesn’t hire them in the first place. The answer is internships.
5. You get paid – As mentioned, when I went to university, the internships I was aware about were all voluntary. The labour market was heavily employer driven so many of them took advantage of offering short-term internships without remuneration. Boy have things changed today! Interns get compensated fairly and in some cases quite handsomely. I recall one of my friends here in Singapore being paid several thousands of dollars a month in a financial institution. Now all organisations aren’t going to pay the same rates, but it’s certainly better than nothing, and you don’t have to fork out for text books from mum and dad.
6. Skills learnt can be applied back at University – As you progress deeper into your degree, you’ll notice that many of the assessments and group assignments revolve around industry projects or relevant research that pertains to your field. Often if you’ve partaken in an internship, the knowledge gained can help dramatically prepare you for the assessment and demonstrates how current your perspective is. Interns usually conduct project based work in their tenure at a company, so softer skills acquired such as presentation skills or teamwork are applicable to your assessments also.
7. References – Another major advantage is that you can gain solid testimonials from your manager, mentor or colleagues regarding your work experience. Don’t overlook just how important this point is. A reference goes a long way to testifying to a potential employer why you’re a worthy candidate for a position in their company. If you possess an excellent skill-set and grade when you graduate, but a hiring manager can’t substantiate your candidature with accurate testimonials, then all they have is a great list of evenly spaced bullet points on your CV. A referee that is willing to verify your eligibility, says that you can be trusted.
If you can think of other reasons that internships are important, I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts for the benefit of the whole community.
Andrew is the Founder of Gradkin, a Branding and Networking platform to connect Candidates with Employers. He also founded of Kintuition, a company that aims to foster interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence among Gen-Y in Asia. He offers a unique perspective on Gen-Y, being one himself and having recruited and managed this generation. His previous positions in Sales, Communications and Human Resources have given him an insight into understanding what truly motivates this new generation of Millennials. The company has sole proprietary rights to Gradkin. Jump to his personal blog by clicking here.
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has written 2 awesome articles for us at Fernando Tarnogol – Careers Blog
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