College is an important time of your life because this serves as your training ground towards adulthood. The things you will learn and experience in college can significantly affect your ability to find a job in the future, especially when you will be immersed as an intern. Participating in internship programs can be a great way to hone your professional skills.
You need to complete your internship program before you can graduate college, but you should not treat this phase as a mere requirement. On the contrary, you should make the most out of your internship program by learning the following skills:
1. Public Speaking
Public speaking is common among college students. All degrees will require you to stand in front of the class and discuss a particular subject or topic. Depending on the scope of your discussion, you might even have to answer questions in front of your audience after giving your talk. This remains true when it comes to internship programs. Regardless of how small you think an organization is, as an intern, expect that you will speak in front of an audience.
More often than not, you’ll be speaking in front of a team to discuss your ideas, or to the bosses to convince them about your plans or projects. In some cases, you might even be asked to speak in a huge crowd to give out seminars and talks as part of the organization’s external projects.
Public speaking can be very nerve-wracking, especially if you’re a naturally shy person, but there are countless strategies on how you can get out of your comfort zone and become more confident in speaking. Before speaking in front of a crowd, spend time to know your audience, let your personality shine through, and always use examples in the middle of your talks.
Being a confident public speaker can be your edge and make you appealing in the recruiter’s eyes, even if your country will experience an internship hiring freeze as you’re about to start your journey as an intern.
2. Project Management
Regardless of the industry, you want to be in after college, expect that you will have to work on different projects in order to meet your responsibilities as an employee. The bigger the organization is, the more projects you’ll have to complete. Having all of these responsibilities can be very overwhelming, especially if these projects are time-bound and will require you to work with other people in the organization.
Project management is one of the most important skills you should learn as an intern. Learning how to effectively manage your work during the early stages of your career will make it very easy for you to adjust once you start working in a corporate setup. Your internship program can be a great platform for you to learn how to organize your priorities for you to accomplish your tasks with the utmost efficiency.
3. Networking
Networking is important to your professional success. It’ll be very easy for you to land a job and work with different people if you know how to network. With an expansive and strong network, you can easily gain vital insights into different industry trends, movements in the organization, and insider information on job openings. Regardless if you’re doing it through social media or personal interaction, knowing how to network with other people is always a must, and this is a skill that you must start developing as an intern.
Participating in your school’s internship program is already a great way for you to network with other people. However, you should not settle by merely knowing the individuals who are working within your department. You should make an effort to reach out to other individuals in the organization as well.
If you are assigned to work in the marketing department of an organization, put in some effort in knowing employees who are assigned in different departments. If possible, set up a goal on how many people you would want to know in a day, and regularly assess if you’re able to hit your target. Being confident in meeting and working with different people will surely make it very easy for you to progress in the real world of employment!
4. Time Management
You will have a lot of things on your plate when you start working. Aside from making sure that you submit high-quality outputs on time, you also have to allocate time and energy for your friends, family, and other personal responsibilities. Having a work-life balance is essential for every adult to ward off stress and continue to be productive in the workplace.
Time management is an important skill, which is why you should start developing it early during your internship. You can slowly improve your time management skills as an intern by creating a master schedule, setting goals for your tasks, and making a project plan. Since you will also have to study and do your part for the family, having time management skills is always a must.
Honing your time management skills is not a walk in the park, especially if all of your responsibilities are equally important and urgent. But, this process can come off easily if you take the time to review your efforts and make changes to the strategies you’ve implemented. As long as you’re willing to make changes, it won’t be long before you can master the ability to manage your time as an intern!
5. Think Positive
Internship programs will require a lot of adjustments from you. When you are in one, you have to be productive in a new environment while being surrounded by new people. This setup, when not handled properly, can result in stress and affect other areas of your college life.
Make sure that this doesn’t happen by starting your internship program with a positive outlook. Instead of thinking about how challenging this program will be, think of it as an avenue for you to learn important skills that can increase your employability and, eventually, improve the quality of your life in the future!
Andrie Steliou
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