Why I Wish I Did An Internship
a.k.a. Deirdre explains the benefits of interning
I’m twenty-six years old and doing okay (I think) career-wise, but I have always been SO JEALOUS of the college kids I’ve been able to work with at every job I had. Even at the logistics technology startup where I’m at right now, where the internship program just kicked off last week, I’m already blown away by the kinds of projects these kids would be handling — projects that I only got the chance to do when I was already a year into working. I can only imagine what type of work they’d be trusted to do once they actually join the workforce a year or so from now.
But this is not just a post about how this anxious professional nerd wishes she could go back in time and tell her past self to be more of a go-getter, no. This is also an open letter to you, children, to learn from Ate Deirdre’s mistakes and consider doing an internship this summer (it’s not too late to go get one!)
Internships are prototypes.
I’m a big fan of design thinking and applying it to life (sidebar: I did a talk on this back in 2017 if you’re interested: video, slides). I believe that a good way to answer “what do I want to do with my life?” is to try a lot of different things and eliminate the ones that don’t work. Keyword: try. I’m not asking you to enroll in a four-year course and hope that it turns out to be what you want to do. That would be prematurely committing to an option that you didn’t even test out. Take it from someone who realized just before her final year in college that she doesn’t want to go to medical school, prototyping an experience NOW can save you a lot of agony in the future.
Are you choosing between law or teaching? Go intern at a law firm! Or tutor as a side gig! Prototypes are like low-res versions of the life you think you want. Then level it up when you have more data to polish your life design :)
Internships can help you find a mentor early.
In 2017, I initiated STORM Scouts: STORM Technologies’ first structured internship program. Each intern in that first batch was assigned to one mentor, and was given the chance to interact with so many people in the company. It was then that I realized the value of getting input and advice from people with years of experience from different backgrounds: I saw this first-hand when one of our iOS development interns asked our COO for advice on which job offer to take in 2018 (yes, a year after his internship with us and none of the offers had anything to do with STORM).
Most of our interns from that year still keep in touch with our people operations head for career advice too. I myself still have catch-ups with some of them, where I discuss stress management and try to connect them with others who could help them on their projects or developing their careers.
In the early years of your career, you’re gonna need a lot of help and a lot of advice. I met my mentor in my second job, and she enabled me to grow faster than I thought was possible for someone just starting out in new disciplines. That’s when I discovered the value of a mentor, someone who is invested in your career development. And the earlier you meet that someone, the better.
Internships allow you to “job hop” without the judgement.
Here’s Ate Deirdre dishing out some resume advice from her time doing talent selection: companies are cautious when they encounter a job candidate that’s been to too many companies and spent so little time with them. This is because they’re worried that the candidate would do the same with them. One some level, I understand their hesitation: recruitment and training is expensive, so it’s wiser to invest in someone who is more likely to stay longer. But on another, I also understand job hoppers: there’s no point in staying in a role with a company that’s just not a good fit.
There will be a lot of trial-and-error early in your career while you’re still figuring out what you like and don’t like in a company. However, it’s best that you do this without having to actually quit a job. Internships are a limited engagement: you’re there for two to four months (probably six at most?) and then you move on to the regular semester or to another internship. No hard feelings when you leave because there’s little expectation for you to stay.
I know someone who did 12 (yes, 12!!!) internships in a span of 5 years, and I found this quite impressive. But if that were an employee, that would be a solid red flag. Now I don’t want to put job hopping up on a pedestal, all I’m saying is that there’s a lot less at risk when you try out different opportunities while you’re still a student.
Internships help you hone existing skills…
College classes rarely give you the chance to apply learnings outside of the classroom. I don’t know about you, but the best way for me to understand a concept is seeing it being relevant in real life situations. For example, I got to polish my survey design skills when I started working on real market research for MedGrocer and STORM. It was then that I discovered the pros and cons of using a binary scale over a Likert, exercise my item-writing, and try out different ways of scoring. This wasn’t too late in my career but I do wish I did work like that sooner. Internships give you opportunities to put theory into practice, and existing skills to the test.
… and gain new ones.
Of all the interns I’ve encountered, I am impressed the most by the ones who went for roles that aren’t directly related to their college course. This shows me that they’re out here looking to learn something new, something they couldn’t get inside the classroom.
A management student learning how to code in Python on the job? A computer science major trying out business development? These kids are expanding their skills outside the box they’re in, and will end up being more equipped for the jobs of the future than I am — I am intimidated but at the same time inspired to be more like them, to go for opportunities that allow me to add a new skill on my resume.
Internships give you allowance!
So if none of the above reasons have convinced you yet, then here’s a financial reason: you get paid. If all of the reasons convinced you though, here’s the icing on the cake: you get paid.
You are learning, expanding your network, gaining experience, AND you get compensated while doing all those. Who wouldn’t want some extra money in the bank while you’re still in school? College me sure would have appreciated that (because that meant more Snack Shack burgers for lunch!)
That said, I know there’s a question on your mind so I’ll address it now: should you go for internships that don’t give allowance?
As much as I’m a person who isn’t primarily motivated by the pay check, I believe in fair compensation for fair work. I believe that the compensation philosophy is a good peek into the values of the company (something I wish you all look out for), and that companies who treat you as free labor (no matter how startup-y they are) aren’t really looking out for your career development — steer clear of them as much as you can.
TL;DR
Internships are like career accelerators! (I wish I did one when I was still in undergrad.) You get to experiment with different career paths, meet people who could be a lot of help in the present and in the future, sample company cultures, get practice for skills you already have and gain new ones, AND get some extra $$$ in the process.
Deirdre is the co-founder of the Sykap internship initiative, where students experience a different kind of internship. The Sykap curriculum allows interns to get on-the-job work experience and mentorship from startups, while getting foundational training and collaboration opportunities with fellow Sykap interns.
If you’re interested in doing an internship because of the reasons in this piece, sign up for one at sykap.com/#apply
