How can an internship help boost your career after college?

1. Gives you real-life experience
2. Provides the opportunity to learn more about yourself
3. Lets you develop a professional network

One of the biggest issues these days for young professionals that are transitioning into the workforce is that they need experience to get experience. In the labor market of today, employers are more reliant on resumes that show a relevant work history, in addition to graduating from an international college. In the Philippines and in other countries, these can come in the form of volunteer work, actual job experiences, or internships.

When a graduate of an international school attempts to enter the job market, a practical work background can carry a major significance because many of the industries they typically enter are all about competition. Aside from people who are competing to get the job that they want in a particular company, businesses are now also competing against each other for a competitive advantage.

Working as an intern is probably the best plan of action you can take if you are looking to gain experience. The internship that you will do over the summer could be the difference between landing a job opportunity or losing it. Here’s how an internship can help boost your career after college:

Gives You Real-Life Experience

If you are lucky enough to work as an intern while studying at an international college in the Philippines, it can be remarkably valuable towards advancing your career. An internship allows you to gain a first-hand exposure of working in the real world. It also allows the students to realize the knowledge, theoretical practice, and skill that they have learned in school.

Even if you can acquire a near limitless amount of education in your life, that knowledge does not necessarily relate to the working life. The good thing about working as an intern is that it can teach you about the specific companies or industries that you might be interested in. Even just the experience of trying something new can be extremely helpful when choosing a career.

A lot of students often get stuck in the same routines, attend the same schools, surround themselves with the same people and stay in the same town. An internship can expose you to new, like-minded people in a more stable and controlled environment.

Lastly, an intern is not immediately thrown into the deep end but rather given proper, assignments, duties, and training without the additional pressure. For students with little experience of the professional world, an internship can be a nice learning curve.

Provides the Opportunity to Learn More About Yourself

The experiences you go through are what shapes you which is why your internship will not only allow you a greater understanding of yourself but also encourage personal development.

By knowing yourself in your internship, you can also know your goals and how you can achieve them. All it takes to achieve this level of clarity is to try out something new and getting out of your comfort zone every now and then, even if it may seem difficult.

Take a Business Management student from the top international school who wants to do an internship related to his or her course, for example. That internship is going to give them a chance to explore what a career in business management would be like.

This will prepare them for any surprises that they may find when they finally start their career because there are times that reality does not always meet expectations. During the internship, the student is also given the chance to decide whether they want to continue with their current one or try something else.

Lets you Develop a Professional Network

Simply put, networking is an exchange of information between people. The ultimate goal of networking is establishing relationships and acquaintances to advance your professional career.

While you can attend a networking event without doing the internship, you would be severely limiting yourself. Doing an internship allows you to establish a deeper relationship with a person than you normally would.

According to some professors of the most renowned business schools in the world, the biggest mistake that students make when networking is that they don’t do it. Being an intern can give you more opportunities to build connections with the professionals in your industry which can greatly benefit your career.

It is always good to have a backup plan even if you think you won’t need it. Because life is unpredictable, there may come a time when a network you have made during your internship can come in handy. Networking can happen anytime or anywhere, even at the local coffee shop you always go to, so be sure to have a few business cards on you at all times.

Key Takeaway

An internship is important for your future career. It can be one of the building blocks that is needed for creating the path to a successful career.

If you ever find yourself with nothing to do this summer or are in your gap year, you might want to consider taking a meaningful internship and help boost your career.

 Enderun Colleges creates a culture of academic innovation by making the internship the core of the curriculum for each student. To learn more about the success of student internships here at Enderun, check out the videos in our Facebook page!