All about Internships: Things you might just don’t know

Author Hafsa Ahsan – She writes for Daily Dawn

Every year, the organization I work for receives lots of resumes. Most are from students looking for summer internships. Encouraging as it is to have an inbox full of resumes, it is shocking to discover that sometimes, not even one candidate is close to having the right attitude, even for an internship. It is even more shocking to read about their understanding (or lack thereof) of what an internship is. Some of these misconceptions must be cleared immediately.

For example, it seems as if most students do not understand how important internships actually are. Internships provide you with the necessary experience that an entry-level applicant needs. In fact, in this day and age, graduates with no experience to speak of are given least attention. Employers want to hire someone who has experience in their field and in a professional set ting—such experience is obtained through internships. Many companies, after hiring interns, note their work, diligence and progress. If you prove yourself worthy, they may contact you later on for a full-time position.

So what else is missing in the students’ attitude? And what are their misconceptions? Here are a few: Internships can be done from home The first time someone asked me that, I thought I had read the email wrong. A workfrom-home internship is a ridiculous idea. The whole point of an internship is to come to a workplace, get the feel of working in a professional environment, learn to interact with colleagues and meet deadlines, etc. How can one possibly intern from home? Yes, there can be field internships where one is asked to come to work and then step out for some work and report the progress. But even that entails leaving the comfort of your home and venturing out. There are ‘writing’ internships Again, the idea is quite strange. If you contribute four articles to a publication on a weekly basis, how can you expect to receive an internship certificate for it? Freelance work does not really count as an internship. Yes, if you are an exceptional writer, there may be someone who will make an exception for you if you genuinely cannot commute to work, but even then, it will not be counted as a ‘real’ internship. I send my curriculum vitae and it disappeared This is a highly unprofessional attitude that is somehow is becoming more common. People send their resumes and then never reply when the organisation calls them for an interview. After three months, they again send the CV to the same organisation, with the same set of quer ies that they had asked earlier. A more sensible approach would be to write down the list of organisations to which you are sending your CV and then see to it that you actually respond to them. Even if you don’t want to do an internship anymore, you should at least send a courtesy email, so that your resume can be discarded for the time being. And counter check your list the next time you are sending put your CV, to make sure you don’t re-send it to the same person. Any organisation will do No, it won’t. If you are studying with science subjects as your major and you have sent your CV for an internship for a commerce-related job, you will cause some raised eyebrows. The idea that comes across in such a scenario is that you have simply sent your CV to millions of organisations without bothering to learn more about their internship requirements. Also, the minute you find an internship that is closer to your field, you will leave the rest.

In such a case, there is a high level of reluc tance to actually call you for an interview at all, and now you can understand why. Learn more about the internship requirements of each organi sation before you send in your resume and indi cate that you are really interested in doing it from the start to the finish. I dictate the date and time of the interview Since when did the candidates get the right to negotiate with the Human Resource manager about the time and date of the interview? This reflects very badly on you. It would do well to remember that the organisation decides the day and time of your interview and you have to com ply. If there is a genuine problem, for instance, you have an exam the clashes with the interview, then it can be considered, but not otherwise. How much will I get paid?

Interestingly, this is the first question that is asked. The question should be, “Will I get paid at all?” because a lot of organisations do not pay for internships. At the end of the day, you have to decide whether the experience is worthwhile or not, in case you are not paid. Payment, ideal ly, should not be your objective for interning in the first place.So there you have it.

These are some of the universal truths of in ternships and they should guide you where and how to apply. The main thing is that you should be willing to rough and tough it out, and work with sincerity. Acting as if you are doing the or ganisation a favour by applying to them for an internship will never help. Believe me, they can see right through it. At the end of the day, a posi tive attitude before and while interning will en sure that you have a terrific learning experience, even if you are not paid.

Original article published on 7 Feb 2010 in Images Dawn Weekly Magazine.

Similar Posts

1. Biomedical Engineering in Pakistan
2. Internship Programme for Matric and Intermediate Students
3. Warid Group SMS Feature Introduced as First Ever Service from a Celco
4. Zaid Hamid Attacked in Islamia College University
5. Cracking the IELTS
6. Miss Pakistan Goes Bollywood
7. Silly Behaviors of British Council Officials in Pakistan
8. Jinnah Scholarship Scheme 2009