It’s essential to get work experience or an internship when you’re starting your career as a young adult. The sooner you begin acquiring the knowledge and experience, the better. Gaining experience is not just about the time you spend working at an organization. You can also earn it through internships or helping out in the family business.
The idea of starting work while you are still studying seems abhorrent, but here are our reasons why internships are important and it should be your priority to succeed in today’s job market:
University does not teach everything
Getting a university degree does not teach you everything you need to know to succeed in life. Working and practising what you know is an efficient way to learn more and develop your skills. That does not mean that getting an education is not essential (for some professions, it’s a must), but it does not teach you everything you need to know.
Courses do not directly help you develop soft skills that are essential to succeed in the real world. You indeed learn to communicate in school, but that happens from interacting in the school environment, not so much from the classes you take. You enhance time management by juggling assignments and hobbies, not from the lecturers themselves.
You can only learn these skills in the real world. By developing them in a work environment instead of a classroom, you understand them in the workplace context. You can learn much from taking a course, but never underestimate how much you can learn outside it as well.
Learn to practice your skills
Hypothetically, let’s say you live in a utopian world where education has covered everything you need to learn to succeed in the workplace. Great!
However, doing something in a classroom setting is not the be-all and end-all. For example, practising public speaking in a class of 20 is very different from doing it with an audience of 200 strangers, where applying what you’ve learned is an entirely different level.
Work experience allows you to apply your skills and, as a consequence, further develop them. Starting your first job early also allows you to use your youth to your advantage. Chances are your first job will be mainly about learning to work as much as performing itself.
Set yourself apart from the high competition
The graduating millennials are facing a job market that is, unfortunately, flawed in many places. Finding yourself with a degree and without a job is common nowadays. The problem becomes worse when they are facing student debt, as well.
Experience is the differentiator for job positions that require it and also others that do not list it as a criterion. The reason for that is simple. You can not apply if a job position requires previous experience. When you finally find a job opportunity that does not require it, you will likely lose out against a more experienced candidate.
Work experience can help you to stand out and become noticeable. Work experience can also help you to balance parts of your resume that are not quite complete.
Internships are a great way to acquire work experience and increase your chances of getting a full time job afterwards. Providing results as an intern and showing your work ethic means you will increase your chances of working there.
Networking is one way to help you get around a lack of experience by finding a job through other channels. Still, the advantages of having actual work experience under your belt are indisputable, particularly for the next point in your career.
Having professional experience makes you trustworthy to employers
One of the things that can enable you to get employed quickly is what all the employers require: work experience. Mentioning an internship as a work experience in your resume will increase your chances for an interview and a job offer.
On the other hand, if you are missing something from your resume, the employer may discard it without second thought easily. The employment process is all about elimination and does not give you the chance to prove yourself first. The best response to the rough side of being rejected without being allowed to prove yourself is not to give them a reason to eliminate you.
Get yourself hands on experience through an Internship today
Part-time or freelancing can give you valuable job experience. Still, an internship is an excellent way to get knowledge and practice the industry’s inner workings. Check out the internship opportunities that we offer and get the experience that will boost your career.
