For everyone pursuing their studies, the next few months will be a period filled with stress and anxiety because it’s that time of the year…nah, am not talking about the Ipl…well actually if IPL stood for ‘Internship Pe Lagiye’ then you are bang on!!! Colleges pride on sending out their star performers to organisations of great repute with such zest as if they have just selected the winning squad for the T20 world cup.
Campus internships are supposedly organised to give the present a glimpse of the future, or the future they intend to choose. The age old connotation of internship stands for doing menial jobs like getting coffee, xerox copies, stationary and sometimes even getting the boss’s lunch from his house (that was a life changing experience!!). Post the entire trauma and assumptions that an intern is burdened with before joining; comes the truth of life…any experience is good experience assuming we have an appetite to learn!!!
Someone who has had a horrid time serving coffees or making copies would want to give me a piece of his mind for saying that it’s a good experience. But understand this brother, if you did it once you won’t be doing it again, unless you are extremely useless, make very good coffee or if you are a graduate with a diploma in coffee making… just kidding! The policy of life is simple brother… crawl, walk, run, do so with a passion & soon you will be zooming comfortably in a swashbuckling convertible.
In my days of learning, I was legend of internships… three different internships, three different jobs I have learnt three rules of a successful internship, none of which I actually followed so it would be safe to say I learnt them the hard way and wish that I could’ve been more sensible.
1. Serve with a Smile…
Ever seen the water purifier commercials? The salesmen in these commercials have these wide grins, see it…learn it and try it… it works!!! Nobody likes to have a grumpy person around them especially when that’s not the most important person in office. Not suggesting that you be the office clown but just that you need to be pleasant & avoid an expression that makes you appear like a terrorist plotting to plant huge bomb in the office (that’s what they thought about me!!)…A smile makes people take notice of you and gives the perception that you are a bright energetic person. Also its makes your superiors take your case a slightly lesser, unless you have a sadist for a boss…then you’re in some trouble, so lose the smile & bring in the blank expression in. Situations at work tend to give you moments of disgust/heartbreak/angst and a frown comes on as quickly as flies on honey!… in such situations try not take it out on the very little work you have, doesn’t seem professional, does it? Also if you end up becoming the centre of the office jokes, try to smile rather than get agitated, after all he who can laugh on himself can laugh on the whole world!
2. Never Say No…
It is essential to let go any minute the enormous ego that you might carry around with you when you enter an office. From making copies to making a presentation always be prepared to do everything you are asked to. Any employee who will do his work efficiently no matter however small it is, will always be thought of as someone who can be trusted. ‘Trust is Must’ and to gain it you need to be ready to slog, for the one who endures is the one who matures. Most of the organisation employing interns think that they are doing the young minds a big favour and also assume that they own you… well they are kinda right and even if not, you are in no position to grumble! Do so, but in your little space with your set of friends, or best in a loo with the doors locked and the exhaust on!!
3. Observe & Absorb But Don’t Expect…
Observation is the key to understanding, and if you can observe with eye for finer details you will learn more in a month than others who are more like a permanent fixture there. The idea is to absorb but not expect, don’t expect to be called for important meetings but try to absorb the ramifications of the meeting by talking to people who were present at the meeting. Some of us will get to do some actual groundbreaking work while others might just spend their time doing basically stupid jobs. Sometimes doing nothing can actually be translated be doing a lot by ways of understanding the nature of work you will be expected to do in the future. Try to understand the workings of a firm, the client dealings, the office politics, the various job profiles and job descriptions and more importantly the flow of work so you understand who reports to whom ,who does what and then set your target of where you can see yourself when you start your actual job.. In my first internship I understood the importance of knowing who calls the shots in the office by cribbing about my job profile (i was the copy machine guy!!!) directly to my boss…well in my defense, he didn’t look like the boss!!!
Like in life, with internships we need to have as little impositions and conditions as possible. They say an open mind, has solutions to problems that you never thought existed. Working at a place think that you need to impress the people to become a permanent there – this approach which will only minimize your horizon. Take it more like an experience because if you like it and you think you will be good at it, many companies will approach you. My three attempts made me realize that the last attempt was the correct attempt, and that is what I should be doing. So for all you intelligent & to be interns, my advice would be, “Whatever you do, do your best & do it with a smile”….
Campus internships are supposedly organised to give the present a glimpse of the future, or the future they intend to choose. The age old connotation of internship stands for doing menial jobs like getting coffee, xerox copies, stationary and sometimes even getting the boss’s lunch from his house (that was a life changing experience!!). Post the entire trauma and assumptions that an intern is burdened with before joining; comes the truth of life…any experience is good experience assuming we have an appetite to learn!!!
Someone who has had a horrid time serving coffees or making copies would want to give me a piece of his mind for saying that it’s a good experience. But understand this brother, if you did it once you won’t be doing it again, unless you are extremely useless, make very good coffee or if you are a graduate with a diploma in coffee making… just kidding! The policy of life is simple brother… crawl, walk, run, do so with a passion & soon you will be zooming comfortably in a swashbuckling convertible.
In my days of learning, I was legend of internships… three different internships, three different jobs I have learnt three rules of a successful internship, none of which I actually followed so it would be safe to say I learnt them the hard way and wish that I could’ve been more sensible.
1. Serve with a Smile…
Ever seen the water purifier commercials? The salesmen in these commercials have these wide grins, see it…learn it and try it… it works!!! Nobody likes to have a grumpy person around them especially when that’s not the most important person in office. Not suggesting that you be the office clown but just that you need to be pleasant & avoid an expression that makes you appear like a terrorist plotting to plant huge bomb in the office (that’s what they thought about me!!)…A smile makes people take notice of you and gives the perception that you are a bright energetic person. Also its makes your superiors take your case a slightly lesser, unless you have a sadist for a boss…then you’re in some trouble, so lose the smile & bring in the blank expression in. Situations at work tend to give you moments of disgust/heartbreak/angst and a frown comes on as quickly as flies on honey!… in such situations try not take it out on the very little work you have, doesn’t seem professional, does it? Also if you end up becoming the centre of the office jokes, try to smile rather than get agitated, after all he who can laugh on himself can laugh on the whole world!
2. Never Say No…
It is essential to let go any minute the enormous ego that you might carry around with you when you enter an office. From making copies to making a presentation always be prepared to do everything you are asked to. Any employee who will do his work efficiently no matter however small it is, will always be thought of as someone who can be trusted. ‘Trust is Must’ and to gain it you need to be ready to slog, for the one who endures is the one who matures. Most of the organisation employing interns think that they are doing the young minds a big favour and also assume that they own you… well they are kinda right and even if not, you are in no position to grumble! Do so, but in your little space with your set of friends, or best in a loo with the doors locked and the exhaust on!!
3. Observe & Absorb But Don’t Expect…
Observation is the key to understanding, and if you can observe with eye for finer details you will learn more in a month than others who are more like a permanent fixture there. The idea is to absorb but not expect, don’t expect to be called for important meetings but try to absorb the ramifications of the meeting by talking to people who were present at the meeting. Some of us will get to do some actual groundbreaking work while others might just spend their time doing basically stupid jobs. Sometimes doing nothing can actually be translated be doing a lot by ways of understanding the nature of work you will be expected to do in the future. Try to understand the workings of a firm, the client dealings, the office politics, the various job profiles and job descriptions and more importantly the flow of work so you understand who reports to whom ,who does what and then set your target of where you can see yourself when you start your actual job.. In my first internship I understood the importance of knowing who calls the shots in the office by cribbing about my job profile (i was the copy machine guy!!!) directly to my boss…well in my defense, he didn’t look like the boss!!!
Like in life, with internships we need to have as little impositions and conditions as possible. They say an open mind, has solutions to problems that you never thought existed. Working at a place think that you need to impress the people to become a permanent there – this approach which will only minimize your horizon. Take it more like an experience because if you like it and you think you will be good at it, many companies will approach you. My three attempts made me realize that the last attempt was the correct attempt, and that is what I should be doing. So for all you intelligent & to be interns, my advice would be, “Whatever you do, do your best & do it with a smile”….
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