Why It’s Worth Taking An Internship After Graduation
“Internship nanaman?” (“Yet another internship?”)
When I told my friends and a few family members about my decision to go on an internship post-grad, most of them were baffled.
According to them, it shouldn’t be hard for me to find a good paying full-time job — after all, I graduated with Latin honors as cum laude, on top of all the college achievements I’ve earned and leadership positions I’ve taken on. Throughout college, I’ve also had my fair share of internship experiences, having interned at three different companies prior.
Don’t get me wrong — jumping the wagon into the world of full-time employment was tempting, but let me tell you three reasons why I still took the leap towards one last internship as a Product Design Intern at Swarm before going full-time.
1. Internships allow you to explore your perfect fit.
After graduation, I realized that I was stuck in a rut. By then I just left my position as the President of a dearly beloved student-run UX organization — and as much as I loved leading the community, my commitments did not give me ample time and opportunity to practice what I was truly passionate about: getting down and dirty with UX Design projects.
My realization prompted me to search for a reboot — an opportunity wherein I can get back on track with my creative work and passion, but would also challenge me to learn and take on new agendas. That being said, I was very picky when it came to choosing which company I wanted to intern for, because I wanted to be very intentional about selecting skills I’ll inherently be picking up and the culture I’ll be inheriting them from. As a young designer pursuing the very wonderful path of UX, I realized that there was so much more I can explore about the practice. For one, there were multitudes of industries I can tap into — from tech start-ups, to design agency firms, to big corporations — each one offering different learning opportunities.
With a stroke of luck, it was my dear friend and mentor Alexis who reached out to me first, informing me that they were looking for one more Product Design Intern to join their roster at Swarm — an invite-only platform where people can network, ideate, and form teams to work on startup- or self-initiated projects. Taking the opportunity was my best bet, as I figured that doing product design at an early start-up would provide me three things I was looking for: mentorship, growth, and product ownership.
💡 Tip: Make your internship count by being very intentional about the opportunities you seek out — ask yourself which skills you want to learn, and what type of people you want to learn from, after which you can assess which companies can offer what you’re looking for. It’s all about finding that perfect fit!
2. Internships are a good way to continuously learn and stay productive on-the-job, but with less of the overbearing pressure.
Interns have come a long way from merely fetching coffee for the big bosses; I’m fortunate enough to be part of a company that treats their people — from C-level executives down to their interns — as valuable assets. It’s one advantage of being part of a small, tight-knit start-up, where everyone’s listened to because everyone’s opinions and contributions matter.
Take my very first day at Swarm, which involved a very intimate Zoom call with Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler. Almost half of us in the call were interns, and yet each one of us was still encouraged to participate in the discussion by asking our own question for the esteemed Maria Ressa. It was definitely a first day I’ll never forget!
Besides that, my first week involved joining a few design reviews with my team, pitching in ideas for growth planning sprints, and having one-on-one’s with my supervisors. While I’m still very early on in my internship, I already feel very challenged, and in a good way. I’m learning about design, but also a lot about start-up and product growth, and what it takes to collaborate within a product team.
Ultimately, I’m very happy spending my valuable time learning and staying productive even if I’m technically still “on a (post-grad) break”. Best of all, my internship doesn’t get in the way of side projects that I want to pursue, especially now that I’ve finally been granted total free time with no academic responsibilities.
💡 Tip: Stay confident, yet humble. Recognize your value — not just as an intern but as a team player and a decision-maker — this will enable you to stay motivated to put in the work. On the flip side, remember that you’re in the internship to learn! Know when to observe and listen to your peers and when to take feedback.
3. Internships will equip you with time, experience, and a level-head before going full-time.
Contrary to popular belief, getting a full-time job isn’t always what’s best for everyone. I know, I know — it was also quite hard for me to resist the pressure of finding a job when all I saw in LinkedIn were my batch mates’ new job announcements. I had to remind myself that I’m treating my internship as an investment. Besides, I wouldn’t want to jump on a full-time opportunity, only to regret it when it’s too late.
At the end of the day, personal and career growth are relative. Internships may be more favorable to those who are still building up their skills, experience, or even their mental disposition before committing to a more full-time arrangement. One of my sub-goals upon completing my internship would definitely be to have more confidence in my craft and workflows, especially among the sea of talented designers. For the longest time I’ve suffered from the impostor syndrome, but that’s for another story (if you’re interested to know about how to keep your mental design game strong, feel free to read this article by a close friend, who happens to be one of my co-interns at Swarm!).
Additionally, treat your internships as a preview of what’s it like to work full-time. After all, the things you’ll learn as an intern will be something you can take away and use forever. Even applications for full-time jobs are similar to those for internships nowadays, so preparing for one will help you prepare for the other.
💡 Tip: Don’t compare your growth with others — everyone’s on their own path. Take time to self-reflect on your skills, dreams, and passions and make sure that all your career decisions are intentional towards reaching your goals.
At the end of the day,
I understand that post-grad internships aren’t for everyone. I came in searching for internships knowing that my end-goal was to achieve growth and mentorship, not permanent stability and money — if it was the other way around, then maybe I would have considered pursuing full-time applications right away.
But if you’re a young post-grad like me who’s still very open to learning and exploration, then by all means I encourage you to land your dream internship!
Thanks for reading! If you like this article, feel free to give it some claps. 👏🏻
About The Author
Patricia Ramos is currently navigating the startup scene through product design at Swarm and AcadArena, while also doing freelance UX / UI on the side. Previously, she has hustled through several UX design internships while leading User Experience Society, the first student-run UX organization in the Philippines.
