Why are you pursuing an education? Is it to become a good researcher, to learn academic writing and convert theory into more theory? Or is it to improve your chances of landing a job that matches your interests and ambitions? If you’re like most people, you’re going for the job opportunities.
It’s important to keep that in mind during your education – that your studies should lead to you being able to enter the workforce and make a contribution. To become appealing to an employer. What prepares you best for this is having job experience already. An internship can be your way to get a head start in your first job hunt.
In an internship, you connect theory to reality
Most graduates intend to work outside the academic world when they hit the job market. That’s why it’s important to test yourself in the real world before stepping into it.
You tend to learn a great deal during an education. You should also be able to apply all that you’ve learned in a workplace. That’s why gaining experience through an internship can be a great idea – you can get hands-on experience with converting theoretical knowledge to practical skills.
Your experience from an internship can turn out to be very relevant at a later date
Through an internship, you will also become smarter. You will gain many new skills, you will get to make many new connections, and – crucially – you will also get to know yourself better.
For example, you will become more aware of what you’re good at and what you would like to work with. You will definitely also learn what you absolutely do not want to work with. That way, you will also be able to deduce which jobs you should apply for once you graduate. These are all experiences that you have in your arsenal before your graduation, rather than only starting to gain them when you begin a new job.
An internship can also often be a shortcut to a student job with the same employer. With a student job, you gain even more of that all-important experience that you also acquire through an internship. Even better, a student job can also become a shortcut into your first full-time job.
The all-important experience
But what is it all about, experience? The famous – and infamous – experience. What everyone wants, but no one can get, because they don’t have it.
During an internship, you’ll primarily gain experience in getting good results, making some mistakes, trying different work tasks and most importantly, learning – both professionally and socially. “Experience” consists of many different elements. It’s those different elements that prospective employers are looking for. With them, you can contribute much more from the start in a full-time position that you would have been able to, without experiences from your time as a student.
After an internship, you will be able to apply for jobs that necessitate some experience from a stronger position
For example, you will know what it is like to be in a workplace. You can’t learn that through your studies or from a book – in order to get that experience, you have to have actually been in a workplace.
During an internship, you will also gain some professional skills and you will learn how you can use your knowledge and skillset to contribute in the workplace. You may even gain some specific skills that can give you a leg up against other job applicants when applying for relevant positions in the future. That way, your experience from an internship can turn out to be very relevant at a later date.
To summarize, after an internship, you will be able to apply for jobs that necessitate some experience from a stronger position – because you do come with experience. That thing that you’re probably aware is so awfully elusive! To an employer, there’s a big different between a graduate with no experience and a graduate with 1, 2 or 3 years’ worth of work experience.
An internship comes with a network
You can learn a lot through an internship, but you can also get to know many new people! Those people can then also help you in your future job hunt.
Firstly, you’ll have someone who will be able to recommend you. This can be a written recommendation, but it can also come about in a more direct way. If you’re looking for a job at a specific company, where you already know someone, they might be able to help you. If they can talk to the right people and tell them to take another look at your application, then you’re already miles ahead of many others.
Your network can also help you to find job opportunities that aren’t posted far and wide
As long as your application or resumé is good, then you will probably get called to a job interview, in part thanks to your network.
Your network can also help you to find job opportunities that aren’t posted far and wide. Many jobs are never publicly posted. Instead, they are filled through networking. And if you don’t know anyone who knows about the position in question? Well, then you won’t get to be the one to fill it.
Through an internship, you can expand your network. Your network gives you a better shot at landing a position or being contacted when a position becomes available.
Get to it and apply for an internship as soon as possible! Weve even made it easy for you – here are our current internship postings.
