23 Jul 2020

Internships come in all shapes and sizes but to their core, they're an opportunity to network, find mentors, suss out your dream workplace, learn skills and have some legit experience that looks bangin' on your resume. What can you expect from an internship? Here's the hot goss.

1. Expect limited responsibilities

Expect to have low-level tasks to do. By no means am I saying that they'll be boring as you'll still be amongst the hustle and bustle of the workplace, but since you're new, inexperienced and only going to be working with the company temporarily, you won't be trusted with high-level tasks. 

2. Expect to learn a lot

No matter what you're doing during your internship, you'll most likely learn a lot of soft and hard skills. Even if you figure out that this actually isn't what you want to pursue, you would have absorbed tonnes of lessons around professionalism, responsibility, communication... etc.

At times, internships can be a little frazzling as there's so much to learn but in the end, it'll be sooooo rewarding!

3. Expect downtime

This won't apply to every internship, but at least for mine, I had a lot of downtime. Typically, in the workplace, all employees would have been assigned specific duties. When you join as an intern, you may find yourself with nothing to do after you've finished your given tasks. Instead of scrolling down tiktok, be proactive and ask someone if you can help out with something! You'll gain 10 points to Gryffindor whilst also making tighter networks and experiences.

4. Expect to meet people

Meeting people that are passionate, motivated and talented in your dream career path is incredible!! Ask questions, have a chinwag, watch and learn! Who knows, someone you meet may just lead you in the perfect direction for a job or maybe you'll learn some invaluable lessons. 

5. Expect to make mistakes

You're new and inexperienced! It's inevitable that you'll flop a little and that's fiiine. You're not here to be perfect, you're here to learn and guess what, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

Learn from your mistakes, ask questions and don't be so hard on yourself.

For real, internships are an incredible experience. Expect to have a groovy time!