Boost Your Internship Experience

For the next two to three months, you will be undergoing your internship and get a sneak peek of the working world. Nashrah Ghazali brings to light the different ways to make it worthwhile.

Seek CAREER MENTORS

Although mentorship is not practised widely in our country, it is extremely beneficial, especially during your internship. Basically, mentors are those who can give you careerrelated advice, help you make connections as well as write recommendations for you. Recommendations are words of acknowledgement of your abilities for your future employers’ reference.

But how do I find a mentor, you ask?

During your internship, you will be working with a lot of people from different departments. If you have a colleague who is helpful in answering work-related questions, works with you regularly and cares for both your personal and professional development, start having conversations regarding mentorship with them. If you’re in luck, sometimes your supervisor would even offer themselves to be your mentor.

Document and record EVERY TASK

During your internship, you will be learning a whole lot of things and also, entrusted with many different tasks in this journey. From the simplest to the most complicated, it can be a very long list of responsibilities. It’s important for you to keep track of everything you’ve done and the knowledge you have obtained during your internship as they all add up to your overall experience. There are many different ways to do this: a) you can keep a journal if handwriting is your thing or b) you can keep a draft email and type out every new knowledge or task that you have done along with their dates. All this information will support your achievements and add weight to your résumé later. Believe me, it will make your résumé look impressive in the future.

Research the company AND INDUSTRY

If your career journey is like going through a university course, then internships would be the introductory chapter in gaining industry knowledge. For instance, if you are an editorial intern of a publishing company, you will learn more about the publishing industry. Aim to learn about the company as a whole. Try to seek out colleagues from other departments (e.g. marketing or sales) and learn how they contribute to the company. While doing your internship, start thinking ahead – is this the type of company and department that you would want to work in the future? You may discover during your internship that you prefer to work in a different company or industry. However, don't view the internship as a waste of time, as it’s a blessing to find out your preferred career early.

This short list of things to do will make a difference in your internship experience. Remember that you’re not doing this internship just for the sake of graduating from university but to shape yourself as an ideal candidate for your future career.