Top 10 reasons to do an internship
What do Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg all have in common? They all started their careers as interns!
If you are thinking about an internship, the likelihood is that you, like hundreds of other grads, understand how difficult it can be in today's competitive job market. You are qualified (or nearly qualified) and super eager to get started, but no one seems to be giving you that first professional opportunity.
The reality is, it's really hard to get experience when you don't have experience!
More and more students and graduates (including those famous celebs) have taken control of their future with an internship.
The 10 ways an internship helps you take a short cut to success are:
- Helping you stand out as a recent graduate or young professional amongst thousands of other grads with the same qualification
- Making you more employable through skills development and experience
- Providing real, relevant experience to put on your resume
- Giving you an opportunity to trial the career you want
- Allowing you to apply what you studied in university to a real workplace
- Development of your communication skills and confidence
- Giving you the chance to learn how a business works and providing access to hard-to-find opportunities
- Building your professional business networks
- Matching you with a mentor to guide you and offer advice through your first professional experience
- Providing the opportunity to gain references and endorsements
Prabison, a recent accounting intern, highlights – “Starting off your career as an intern didn't seem like a good idea to me at first, but looking back, I think it is one of the best decisions that I have made. I would recommend all students to give it a go and see if that is what you want to be doing in your future. I was involved in different projects, my mentor was very friendly, every learning curve was interesting, and I was given good career advice. The company that I interned at is a multinational company, so I have worked with senior staff and learned a lot from them. So, this is something that you can't buy with money."
Prabsion undertook an internship placement facilitated by Readygrad, who work with over 4,000 host companies across Australia including some of Australia's largest and most recognisable brand names.
Hannah Drover, Executive General Manager of Readygrad, shares – “Our vision is for every graduate to have the skills and opportunity to pursue the career of their choice. We know how tough it is out there for students, and we've helped over 13,500 get started by matching them to the right internship for them. All Readygrad interns are provided with a formal training plan with clear learning outcomes to ensure they gain real, relevant industry experience, professional development and get an edge in gaining their dream job."
Interested in finding out more about a professional internship? Find out more about the program and why more students choose Readygrad.
Want to know how employable you would be right now? Take the free employability test.
