Internships have often carried a bit of a bad rap, they can be low paid if they are paid at all. They often involve long hours and lots of menial work, which often leave interns feeling exasperated and unfulfilled. Despite these drawbacks over an internship, they can make a huge difference to your career prospects and in an increasingly competitive world being able to make your resume stand out is essential. Here are some reasons why you should consider an internship and how it may prove to be a transformative career decision.
Experience
Of course, the potential experience internships provide is one of the biggest reasons people undertake internship programs. It is becoming increasingly difficult to gain employment without relevant work experience and the benefit of an internship is that it can offer specific work experience in the field you are looking to progress into. It will give you confidence and a working knowledge of the profession you are hoping to join and provide you with invaluable insights. Some internships offer up a diverse experience portfolio that will be beneficial to you for a wide variety of professional endeavors in the future, something the previous intern Nathaniel Whittle is proud of.
Networking
When undertaking an internship you are likely to meet many working professionals. Internships give you a foot in the door, the chance to meet and get to know professionals who you may later come across in your working career. Although internships do not come with a guarantee of a job on completion they can provide interns with a possibility of employment within the company at the end of their internship. Further, the contacts you make may not offer you employment or further opportunity at that moment but they may turn out to be fruitful later on in your career.
Responsibility – of lack of
Given that the nature of the work involved is often menial or even tedious the role of intern does not usually come with high levels of responsibility. It is accepted that you are new to the field and you are there with a desire to gain experience, as such you are not surrounded with huge expectations or expected to shoulder any real responsibility. It may be one of the few times in your working life that this is the case, so enjoy it while it lasts.
Interests
As an internship is a window into what your working life may or may not look like it can give you a real idea of whether this career choice is the right option for you. It may allow you to explore and develop your interest in a particular field and leave you feeling confident and excited about your potential career choice and prospects. Conversely being exposed to the practicalities of a working environment in marketing or medicine for example may have the opposite effect. It may teach you that actually this is not the correct option for you and it is not something you want to spend your professional life doing. It is certainly better to find this out in the early stages before you have invested your time and money in pursuing a certain career path.