In today’s competitive labour market and the rising spate of unemployment amidst the harsh economic realities, choosing a career path and the organization you would like to work for as undergraduates, fresh graduates and MBA students are both extremely tough and often times stressful decisions to make. These challenges have resulted in frustration for many job seekers while quite a number are still groaning in the job market waiting for someone to show or offer mercy or kindness to them by engaging them in activities that barely had value to their personal or professional development.
From experience in both worlds, one way in which undergraduates, fresh graduates and MBA students can easily have a head start in a career of their choice or discovering what career is right for them is to consider internship. Only in Africa is the word internship unpopular and seemingly vague, to most undergrads and job seekers. According to Wiki’s definition, Internship is a method of on-the-job training for white-collar and professional careers similar to apprenticeship for trade and vocational jobs.
Every employer wants someone with valuable experience to assist in achieving their corporate objective, barely little are willing to invest on graduate entry recruitment with well structured training programmes. And due to the limited number of positions that exist within the companies that are willing to, it is not really advisable to spend several years competing for these opportunities.
Internships are a period of time, typically between 12-24weeks, spent working at an entry level with a company. This practice is becoming more popular in advanced societies and developing economies are fast embracing it due to realization of the benefits for both parties (employers & job seekers) from the process. Some of the benefits or top reasons why undergraduates, fresh graduates and MBA students should consider internships are:
1. Acquire Valuable Work Experience: It serves as an opportunity to gain hands on experience by applying or putting to practice the knowledge acquired in school. As inexperience graduates are certainly not attractive to any employer but few companies are willing to offer internship opportunities to train you with valuable work skills.
2. Gives You an Edge in the Job Market: Employers are usually more concerned about work experience than your qualifications. Internships are the major route to getting the work experience you need to secure a job, which form a vital part of your resume. Many employers want applicants with internship or relevant work experience in today’s competitive job market.
3. Foot in the Door: Most employers see interns as prospective employees. So for most interns it has serve as an opportunity for them to get into the career of their choice or to get into the industry they have always wanted to work in. Internship is becoming the number way to getting entry level career opportunities in both developed and developing economies. It is best to see it as an opportunity to demonstrate your capabilities and aptitude to any employer.
4. Self Discovery: For some, it is an opportunity to decide on the career to pursue. If you are not sure what you have in mind is the right career for you, internship is a great way to try it out to be sure if it’s a career that will satisfy you in the long run.
5. Networking Opportunities: It is a great way to meet with people in your profession. The price of networking opportunities should never be underestimated. An internship offers you the opportunity to meet people who might help land you a job later on and provide you the contacts in the industry you would like to work in. Majority of roles or position are filled through referrals and recommendations.
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