An intern is
a student or a recent graduate that is trained under a supervision of a mentor,
usually a more experienced professional, who guides the intern and introduces
him or her more in details into the features of applied job position through real
problems and solutions. This whole process of introduction into the job and working on tasks
and projects as every other paid employee is called internship.
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| Internship is for students and recent graduates |
It is mostly given by companies. As it has already been
mentioned - this professional practice is usually given to students or recent graduates. This means the
right time to apply for an internship is during your high school, college or
university education - it depends what kind of an intern the company is looking
for. If you are able to take an internship according to your level of
education, the next thing that needs to be considered is where exactly the
internship can be done. This also depends on one's study program, skills,
degree and/or interests. The employer will always put the description of an
ideal intern for the company in the application as well as the job position
description. Of course, the actual job might be more challenging than what had
been described because practice can be full of surprises, depending on the job
position, however, every job has good and bad sides and this should not be
taken as a problem but as a challenge.
Internship offers, i.e. applications, can be found through more
ways. On the Internet there are sites on which employers put their applications
and one can easily browse according to their level of education, skills, age,
residence and other relevant things. The following site is just one of such
on-line sources: http://graduateland.com/ . Companies like Nestle,
Coca-Cola, Intel and IBM post their applications on this site and it is very easy to browse through internships based on different criteria. Another way is
to pick a certain amount of companies you like and check their Internet sites
for available internships. Most of the companies nowadays will put their calls
on their sites along with boards, billboards, etc. - not so often in the
newspapers anymore.
Therefore, if you are a student or a recent graduate looking for
a professional practice, the first place you should look up for the applications is your
high school, college, university, etc. as companies might have put some kind of
advertisements. The next step is to check on-line sources, such as specialised
sites or companies' sites. If you do not find anything you like or you do not
find internship offers for job positions you are interested in, there is always
a possibility of going directly to the company's head office and handing in
your CV with a motivational letter asking for an internship. By doing so, i.e.
being proactive, you also show your interest and motivation directly to your
potential boss in the near future.
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| Being confident while handling your CV helps a lot |
Internship itself not only gives you insight into real advantages and disadvantages of certain jobs but can bring you a full-paid job as well. Many companies consider employing their interns after their internship is done. If there are currently no available full-time job positions once the internship is done, an intern's data will definitely be saved in the company's data base and if there will be an open job position in the future, interns will be often called up first because they have already worked for the company and have a great insight. It is important, therefore, to give your best and show all the job-related skills and knowledge - show what you are capable of.
Internships in general can be paid or unpaid and full-time or part-time. It depends up to you which combination is the best for you, however, it is not always possible to pick the one that suits you the best. Sometimes it can be left up to the intern to decide if they are ready and able to work full-time or part-time but usually it will be specifically mentioned in the application what exactly the company is offering. Of course, being paid for your work is always better but one should also not expect to be paid as a full-time worker. An interns responsibilities will be much lesser and his or her mistakes will be tolerated much more. On top of that, an intern is constantly supervised by a more experienced person in this field of work and can always turn to their mentor in case of any problem or misunderstanding.
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| Being a hardworking intern can bring a full-time job |
Internship is a good opportunity to travel abroad as well. They are offered all around the world and international companies hire competent young people no matter what their nationalities are. Usually the criteria for working as an intern abroad will be a permission to work abroad (and visa related things) and being able to speak a certain language. Some companies might even provide food and stay for their interns but it is not always like that. Therefore, one should also calculate well their travelling and living expenses. If the internship is a paid one, most of the expenses, if not all of them, can be covered up.
