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Benefits of internship

One of the most important and obvious goals of an internship is the acquisition of actual real world experience. Industrial attachment gives you a full and realistic view of workplace environment. This is not a storybook, fantasyland, feel-good activity. What is the workplace culture? What are the expectations? It means going through the highs and lows. You need to ask, is work experience for me? Is it an environment in which I can thrive? Internships are a great way to "try-out" career possibilities. Participating lifts the veil by allowing the student to learn more about the specific industry, field, technology, product or company. With a real feel of the nature of work you have more realistic judgment values that aren’t coloured by fantasy.

The importance of having a better picture of what is really going on can’t be overstressed. Lack of direction and unrealistic expectations, and not lack of intelligence, are some of the major reasons why many careers don’t take off. You can and love to code but how much do you know about other things the programmer must perform - like nature of work? Is programming still your first choice? Your internship experience should aid you in analyzing your options and your situation.

But it’s not just to gain a sense of the work environment. Internship makes it possible to link the academic environment with workplace and professional realities in terms of opportunities and challenges. Internship is an opportunity to learn first hand about valued requirements that can’t be taught or experienced in the classroom.

Furthermore your educational experience can be enhanced through practical work assignments that expose you to the work of the employer (the internship provider). By participating in an internship, you gain hands-on experience and enhance your knowledge in a career field. The opportunity to develop professional competence is a major plus - learning and contributing in the workplace. You should invest in internship to develop new skills and gain professional experience in the IT profession. Competence is particularly important in today’s world, as industry requires competence not just qualifications. Having quality work experience increases your marketability. Qualifications and certifications may open the door but they can’t keep the door open. It’s beyond passing exams. Qualifications will not provide an umbrella for incompetence.

Seeking an internship is a brilliant way to acquire job search and interviewing skills. You use the internship search to learn how to market yourself for opportunity. You gain experience in job-seeking skills such as resume and cover letter preparation and interviewing. The self-evaluation you go through when developing your resume and other job search helps you better define what you want in your future. Usually students with two to three internship experiences during formal education are often the most productive in securing full time employment quickly upon graduation.

Working in industry is about working with people. “No man is an island” - John Donne. You might be a strong academic performer with the best results or grade in your class but please experience is not about “one-woman-or-one-man-riot-squads”. It’s important to know how to learn and work with people to get results. People aren’t machines or zombies. Internship is therefore useful for learning and improving soft skills such as communication, problem solving, analytical, decision-making, leadership, presentation, teamwork, networking and interpersonal skills (empathy, sensitivity, and friendship).

Internship helps students build professional networks. Your interaction with working IT professionals during your internship can lead to career opportunities. Deepen and expand your network. It is easier to succeed when you build your own personal network of individuals that you can rely on for advice, job leads, technical assistance and other helpful support.
 

Jide Awe

Founder, Jidaw.com

This article is continued from Requirements of Internship

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