How Internships Add Value to Students and Businesses

This post is part of Talent Academy’s live Clubhouse chatroom series. Watch the episode below or click here to watch it on YouTube.

Introduction

Most university degrees focus on building on just the technical skills that jobs require. So how do you differentiate yourself from other graduates who have similar skill sets as you? Work experience.

It’s no secret that internships are valuable for both students and businesses. For students, internships fill in the professional experience gap in their resumes. For businesses, it offers a pool of new talent and creativity to your business activities and projects. Here are 3 reasons internships bring value to students and businesses shared by our Talent Academy interns, Korneliya and Rikitaa, and interviewed by our CEO, Sanja Jovanovic.

1. Professional and Business Development

Studying theory is very different from practical work. Educational institutions teach us theoretical knowledge, such as research, reasoning, philosophy and strategies. But practical knowledge leads to the deeper understanding of processes by allowing us to experience and apply our knowledge hands-on.

Our intern, Korneliya, explains that the learning curve is “steep, fun and challenging”. Not only are you exposed to real industries for new experiences, but can also develop your professional and personal skill sets. What makes it more challenging is that your assigned tasks are at “higher stakes”. As interns, what you bring to the table will impact the organisation. With genuine consequences following your business decisions, it trains and builds responsibility, integrity and leadership skills to ensure your investment of time and effort brings value to the organisation.

2. Inspiring, Educating, Connecting & Elevating

Organisations provide guidance to interns through mentoring, training and hands-on experience.

“There’s so much growth [in] having an intern learn practically on the job. It does require some training and guidance, but it’s worth it because students are quite engaged and ready to help out”, Sanja, our CEO, points out.

Facilitating guidance and leading by example sets your interns up for success, improves job satisfaction and enhances business performance. This can be done through listening to your interns. We need to understand that everyone has something to learn from. Interns provide different perspectives to challenges. They bring in new passion, talent and expertise to your business. Establish a space to create, experiment and apply their own ingenuity to the business.

3. Broadening horizons and building relationships

Whenever you are offered an internship or job outside of your industry or expertise, accept the challenge! It’s an opportunity to learn something new. You may even gain valuable skills, experience and, most importantly, networks that will be the foundation of your successful career.

“You don’t get many opportunities for internships. Pick anything, and with some luck, you’ll find an amazing employer like Sanja”, says Korneliya.

Successfully landing an internship is one thing, but finding a group of passionate and supportive individuals and mentors is another. Establishing a good, workplace relationship is a crucial part of completing an internship. So, don’t stick to what you’re studying. You’ll find many employers in various industries hire employees with different education backgrounds and fields. Be open to challenges outside of your comfort zone and field of study. It also shows your willingness to learn.

“I’m able to put on different hats and experiment with different roles. I’m not just being a project coordinator or just being a business analyst”, says Ritikaa.

Conclusion

We have discussed some of the reasons how internships can add value to students and businesses. It offers you the (1) chance to communicate and learn from individuals in different industries, (2) build long-term relationships, and (3) be exposed to various aspects of business operations. You can also experience the ups and downs of running a business, and holistically explore different roles available in your career path. Comment below with how internships have benefited yourself or your business!

Bonus for Students: Start developing your career with an internship today! Talent Academy offers internship opportunities in a range of disciplines, click here to express your interest.