How I did an internship while still studying in high school

About the Author: Farheen Nahvi is studying in 12th standard at Delhi Public School, Srinagar. She talks about how she got her first internship while still studying in school.

As a prospective undergraduate with dreams of making it to one of the best universities in the world, the major item lacking from my resume was any kind of experience outside of school. The world being so competitive, I knew mere merit was not going to help me realise this dream. Thus, began my search for an internship.

Last summer was not particularly busy for me, so I had plenty of time on my hand. Browsing on the internet for some suitable internships, I stumbled across Internshala. This discovery was my equivalent of the Eureka moment! Although I had found a lot of internships online, none were virtual and I could not do a full-time internship as I had to attend school. Internshala gave me this wonderful opportunity to apply for virtual internships, and good ones at that. There was a lot of variety, and all of them were paid too. An opportunity to earn both experience and money! It was perfect, especially for a 11th class student who had earned neither before.

I applied to a couple of internships according to my interests, even to a couple outside of my interests, hoping to make it somewhere. I got rejected time and again. I did get shortlisted for two internships but couldn’t convert them. I started preparing a stronger answer for the ‘why should you be hired’ question that was asked during every application. Soon, I was shortlisted for another internship. The screening test after being shortlisted was to make a college profile for prospective undergraduate students. My perseverance paid off, and the sun finally rose on my happy day; I was hired for a content writing internship by WhatAfter12.

The internship required me to make college profiles for prospective undergraduates just like myself, and write a couple of articles regarding international competitive examinations. I researched college websites and a few other sites for gathering information about the colleges. I then made profiles starting with the history of the colleges, followed by the undergraduate and graduate course listing, accommodation options, student life, college sports, and mascots. I provided links to all the courses, along with other important links. I loved writing and did my work enthusiastically. My work was admired, and I also received a stipend. It was a one-month internship which started in September and it proved to be the most productive month of my life! The first couple of days were exciting, especially after I was told that my way of working was very creative; other interns were recommended to develop college profiles based on my work. I soon fell into a routine, and although it did get a little dull, what kept me going was the realisation that I was getting an opportunity to help a lot of students like myself. And of course, a completed college profile always filled me with a sense of pride and joy. At the end of the month, I had successfully produced 19 college profiles and 6 articles on competitive exams, with details regarding the exam, its uses, and relevant coaching centres in India. The recommendation letter that I received from the employer was the cherry on top of the cake.

This internship certainly improved my resume, and while it is in no way enough, it paved a way for further opportunities. Currently, I’m studying in 12th and have recently joined an editorial internship at Bronze Magazine. The whole experience also taught me about perseverance and hard work. If you want something bad enough, never stop working for it. Failure is a stepping stone towards success; you will face rejections and be tempted to give up, but there is enough willpower in all of us that can keep us going. We only have to look within ourselves to find it.

Inspired by how Farheen started her career? Apply to these cool content writing internships and build your own career.

Note — This story was originally published on the blog.internshala.com on Oct 9, 2017.