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STUDENTS AND INTERNSHIPS

An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organisation for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, an internship is used for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organisations and government agencies.

Internships play a crucial role in your career and future opportunities. Internships have become a vital part of the grouping economy and most of the companies and upcoming companies freely provide internships to students.

Internships are the next new thing and here’s why:

Just having a good degree is no longer enough to secure that all-important graduate job offer in today’s world. Pertinent work experience is now just as valuable as your degree and exam results when it comes to building a successful career. As a result, internships have become an essential way to help candidates make themselves stand out. The importance of an internship has been shown in several recent surveys. According to NACE’s Class of 2019 Student Survey, “More than half of all graduating seniors who applied for a full-time job (53.2%) received at least one job offer. Within this group, 57.5% of students who had an internship and 43.7% of graduating seniors who did not have an internship received a job offer.

Internships provide exposure to experience

Unfortunately, in today’s job market, passing exams with high scores and getting a degree doesn’t offer the much-needed work experience, you will need to succeed in a workspace.

By partaking in an internship, you will be able to gain real-life exposure, grow your knowledge and determine if you are in the right career field. Internships not only provide you with first-hand experience in the real working world but also enable you to understand the career trajectory for your desired job title. You can learn how to apply the knowledge you have acquired during an internship to your future workplaces.

In addition to this, it is an excellent learning curve for young graduates and students while meeting new people and making connections in the professional world.

According to a survey, 84% of students prefer internships to gain industry experience.

Internships provide a chance to network

Networking is the exchange of information between individuals to form acquaintances and relationships to further their professional careers. An internship is an experiential learning opportunity that offers an invaluable chance for students to network and build crucial professional connections before they even graduate.

For some students, it is a stepping-stone to bonus opportunities within the same organisation, including a full-time job. The more people you meet in the professional world with the same interest, the higher your chances to grow as a professional. You will get to know how these people work, what strategies they use to tackle a difficult situation, and how they get the job done. Different people have different skills. Meeting them and watching them work will help you understand how to work with different people and in various work environments. You can use their strategies and reinvent them for your circumstances.

Internships are much more than providing you with technical skills

When you are working as a professional for an organisation, business and technical knowledge are not the only things that the industry demands. You need people skills as well – because no matter how good you are, you won’t stand a chance of succeeding in any profession unless you develop a collaborative work ethic and learn to be a team player.

On top of that, you need to know how to work under pressure, and why deadlines matter. An internship gives you exposure to the challenges of a work environment and having experience of these situations will be useful to talk about in future interviews and show employers that you will be a good fit for their company.

Why virtual internships

A virtual internship is where one can gain professional experience much like a traditional internship except you can do it anywhere. Basically, you have the ability to intern with a company while you may be having a cup of coffee across the other side of the globe somewhere. As long as you have access to a computer and a decent internet connection, you’re good to go.

Now that we’ve covered what virtual internships are and how they work, let’s talk about why you should consider one. Firstly, during unprecedented times, like the current COVID-19 situation, being able to intern online will let you still work on growing your international career while you’re safe at home. However, don’t think that virtual internships are only useful during the current situation. Even after this is over and businesses return to operating as normal, many companies will still offer online internships and they will still be a key way to help you enhance your employability and career prospects.

The main benefit of Virtual Internships is the flexibility they offer. You can intern remotely during your busy school or work schedule and you don’t have to adhere to the traditional office-internship schedule. The work can typically be done at any time of day, as long as you are able to meet the deadlines you are set. Due to this flexibility, you can even take on multiple online internships if you’re up to it! The choice is yours. More so, you can actually save money from not having to commute to and from work.

All in all, internships are the next big thing. The college students should be taking full advantage of this opportunity and spend at least 30%of time doing internships. This will make them ever ready for their bright future ahead. “The reward for work well done is an opportunity to do more.”

According to a study, almost 76,000 students applied to internships every day in the past year.