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rent media companies to make me realize it’s NOT for me. Afterwards, I used my journalistic writing samples as leverage on my CV. My language skills appealed to an employer who was looking for a copywriter intern. She offered me a job, and I ended up loving it!</p><p id="2487"><i>The lesson I’ve learnt is</i>: It’s better to try things out now than later. You have the privilege now to test out what career suits you by applying for multiple jobs. If you didn’t enjoy an internship, just say ‘Next!’.</p><h2 id="bab5">2. Learn your preferences: startups or big corporates?</h2><p id="f9c7">While everyone wants to feel content and happy after every internship, sometimes you may hate your experience. But that’s good news too! You figured out what you don’t like and next time you have a better chance to find something you like.</p><p id="be4c">It feels very different to work in a small company and a large corporation. You just won’t know which you prefer until you gain first-hand experiences on both sides. Varying your internships to be at companies of different sizes might give you a better idea of what kind of company you should apply to after graduation.</p><h2 id="aa81">3. Building a professional network</h2><p id="2788">Although it is important to have the right skills and expertise, the fact is many other job candidates may have the same qualifications. When there is so much competition, connections may be the key to landing a job.</p><p id="f0a7">Treasure the opportunity to network with your co-workers and clients while you’re interning. Then, make sure you maintain a good relationship with them after the internship ends. They might be the bridge connecting you to a dream job in the future!</p><h2 id="e860">4. Learn professional etiquette and unwritten rules of the workplace</h2><p id="20dd">If you are someone with zero job experience, chances are you are unfamiliar with unwritten codes of conduct in the business world.</p><p id="e05e">You won’t l

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earn these rules at school or find them written in your employer’s handbook. They are rules you should adhere to when interacting with colleagues or clients. These unwritten rules can range from email etiquette, like using correct ways to reply and send emails to small things like greeting colleagues, even if you don’t know them.</p><p id="de88">Having good professional etiquette makes it easier for other colleagues to work with you. If you want to appear more presentable and likeable to your coworkers and boss, as well as avoid upsetting anyone, it is helpful to observe and learn from your coworkers’ mannerisms more often.</p><h2 id="821e">5. Sharpen your skills and gain confidence</h2><p id="0cbb">Internships offer you a chance to put your knowledge into practice. You could understand how the knowledge you learnt in a classroom is applied in a commercial setting with guidance from your supervisor. The more you apply those skills, the better you get at doing your job.</p><p id="fc24">Interning allows you to sharpen your skills and gives you confidence in your abilities. Not to mention, the next time you apply for a job, you can tell your future employer how you had hands-on experience in the past.</p><h2 id="c837">Closing Thoughts</h2><p id="c560">Remember, internships are not all sunshine and rainbows. Some days will be hard and you will unavoidably upset your boss every so often. However, it is all a learning process preparing you to be a more professional and mature employee in the future.</p><p id="1b40">The most important thing is, interning is a journey of trial and error. It wasn’t until I have tried different jobs that I realized where my genuine passion lies and what kind of career I will excel in. I am now more certain than ever about my future career path. Although I have lost some summer fun time, I could say that the invaluable connections I’ve made and practical skills I’ve developed definitely made it worth it.</p></article></body>

5 Reasons You Should Do Internships as a University Student

It’s not just for building your CV!

The job market for fresh graduates is so competitive nowadays that seeing ridiculous job posts writing “hiring fresh graduates with 2–3 years of experience” doesn’t seem odd anymore.

Sadly, achieving a high GPA is not enough to land fresh graduates an amazing job. One way to have more work experience to gain a competitive advantage is by doing internships.

While internships are great for enhancing your CV, this very fact makes my university friends dread applying to one. Interning feels especially annoying because the entire purpose of it seems for scoring a nice graduate job only.

As a university student in my third year, I have done many internships and would recommend all my friends to do one because I believe that the experience is invaluable.

Here are 5 reasons you should intern while studying:

1. Exploring different careers without costs

What I mean by ‘no costs’ is jumping from one company to another as a student intern won’t appear shady to your future employers.

University years are excellent times to try out different careers without full commitment. It is normal for students to have 2–4 internships on their CVs. However, when you’re full-time working, you could look unreliable and volatile to a future employer if you skip from job to job.

I used to think I would love to be a journalist. It took me 2 internships at different media companies to make me realize it’s NOT for me. Afterwards, I used my journalistic writing samples as leverage on my CV. My language skills appealed to an employer who was looking for a copywriter intern. She offered me a job, and I ended up loving it!

The lesson I’ve learnt is: It’s better to try things out now than later. You have the privilege now to test out what career suits you by applying for multiple jobs. If you didn’t enjoy an internship, just say ‘Next!’.

2. Learn your preferences: startups or big corporates?

While everyone wants to feel content and happy after every internship, sometimes you may hate your experience. But that’s good news too! You figured out what you don’t like and next time you have a better chance to find something you like.

It feels very different to work in a small company and a large corporation. You just won’t know which you prefer until you gain first-hand experiences on both sides. Varying your internships to be at companies of different sizes might give you a better idea of what kind of company you should apply to after graduation.

3. Building a professional network

Although it is important to have the right skills and expertise, the fact is many other job candidates may have the same qualifications. When there is so much competition, connections may be the key to landing a job.

Treasure the opportunity to network with your co-workers and clients while you’re interning. Then, make sure you maintain a good relationship with them after the internship ends. They might be the bridge connecting you to a dream job in the future!

4. Learn professional etiquette and unwritten rules of the workplace

If you are someone with zero job experience, chances are you are unfamiliar with unwritten codes of conduct in the business world.

You won’t learn these rules at school or find them written in your employer’s handbook. They are rules you should adhere to when interacting with colleagues or clients. These unwritten rules can range from email etiquette, like using correct ways to reply and send emails to small things like greeting colleagues, even if you don’t know them.

Having good professional etiquette makes it easier for other colleagues to work with you. If you want to appear more presentable and likeable to your coworkers and boss, as well as avoid upsetting anyone, it is helpful to observe and learn from your coworkers’ mannerisms more often.

5. Sharpen your skills and gain confidence

Internships offer you a chance to put your knowledge into practice. You could understand how the knowledge you learnt in a classroom is applied in a commercial setting with guidance from your supervisor. The more you apply those skills, the better you get at doing your job.

Interning allows you to sharpen your skills and gives you confidence in your abilities. Not to mention, the next time you apply for a job, you can tell your future employer how you had hands-on experience in the past.

Closing Thoughts

Remember, internships are not all sunshine and rainbows. Some days will be hard and you will unavoidably upset your boss every so often. However, it is all a learning process preparing you to be a more professional and mature employee in the future.

The most important thing is, interning is a journey of trial and error. It wasn’t until I have tried different jobs that I realized where my genuine passion lies and what kind of career I will excel in. I am now more certain than ever about my future career path. Although I have lost some summer fun time, I could say that the invaluable connections I’ve made and practical skills I’ve developed definitely made it worth it.