KOCHI: Studying is never easy for most students, but that should not discourage them from aiming high. Many want high-profile jobs accompanied by fat pay cheques. Between these two stages comes internship. Most universities insist on students taking up internships so that they can get a feel of being a professional. However, internships cannot be taken as a light-hearted experience. Instead, it could be one of the deciding factors of your career.An intern recruiter, Abhilash Das, says that picking the right organisation is very important. “Doing internship at a top-notch organisations may look good on a resume, but you have to ensure that you do meaningful work,” he says.“It is always better to be an intern in a medium-level company, where we can learn a lot,” says Nithish N, a network engineer. “In big companies, no one will spend time on interns.”The idea is to gain the experience that will help in building up a career. However, most of the time, interns are made to do things that are looked down upon. It can vary from managing log books to serving coffee to teammates. “A trainee should have the willingness to learn and to volunteer to undertake different projects,” says Daniel C, of the HR section of Disha Communications. “This helps to build confidence and enables an individual to take charge in an important situation.”As an intern, you get the chance to work in various departments and understand the workings of the company as a whole. This not only gives an insight into the practical functioning of an industry but also helps in understanding one’s own strengths and weaknesses. “While studying, I was confident about my writing skills as I always got good grades,” says graphic designer Vidhu. “However, when I took up an internship in a PR firm, I realised that I could not even write a press release. This made me realise that classroom knowledge may not necessarily help me in getting into a desired field.”Asking questions is the key to knowledge. Never miss an opportunity to get answers from experienced professionals. Be open to take up new challenges. Some organisations give their ‘client tasks’ to interns to work on. Finding solutions to these not only prompts trainees to think out of the box, but also gives them a practical exposure. “I did my graduation in journalism,” says Ammu, a junior copywriter. “However, during post-graduation, I was introduced to advertisement and copy-writing. After my studies I took up internships in two reputed advertising agencies in Bangalore and finally realised that copy-writing is what I wanted to do.”One important aspect is to ask for regular and detailed feedback on your performance. That will help you compare yourself with industry standards. Tanya Shelyazhynska, from Russia, a post-graduate in linguistics, is now an intern at Eastend Hospitality, Panampilly Nagar. “When I started as an intern, I became more careful about doing things,” she says. “Internship has given me an opportunity to learn how to work from inside an organisation. Doing a year-long internship is most beneficial. However, students can also do six months.”Recently, Kochi has been witnessing an inflow of foreign students who take up internships. “The majority come from European countries,” says Akhil Cherian Abraham, local committee president, Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (AIESEC), Kochi. “Around 40 per cent are from Germany.” Most of the internship enquiries are related to management, IT and hospitality. “Sadly, I cannot say the same about Kerala students as most of them are still not aware of the importance of internships,” says Akhil.Internships may or may not help you with your best pick for a career, but it will surely give you an idea of how things work in the professional world. So take time out of your busy academic schedule to enable you to put theoretical knowledge into practical use before you have your college farewell party with a cloud of ‘What’s Next?’ over your head.
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