Introduction

Whether you graduated or are still studying, nowadays, your degree alone, unfortunately, is not enough to find a good job or to start building your professional career.  Proven practical work experience is very critical now, and it makes finding a job a million times easier than just depending on your degree or exam results. That’s exactly why the concept of “internships” exists. One of the main reasons why you need to do an internship this summer is to make connections and learn the required technical skills for the job hunt. In this article, we’ll give you everything you need to know about the reasons why you need to do an internship this summer. 

 

What does internship mean? 

Linguistically, the Cambridge dictionary defined the word “Internship” as a period of time during which a student works for a company or organization in order to gain experience in a particular type of work. So, it is the perfect phase you need to go through to connect the missing dots between what you study and what is actually happening in the professional world. 

Internships are popular amongst graduate and undergraduate students who need to gain research or valuable work experience. Almost every sector and type of company, from large multinational corporations to small startups, now offers internships.

According to NACE’s Class of 2019 Student Survey, “More than half of all graduating seniors who applied for a full-time job (53.2%) received at least one job offer. Within this group, 57.5% of the students had previously followed an internship and received a job offer.” Isn’t that cool? Let’s continue then. 

Doing an internship is the master key that will unlock a lot of possibilities and opportunities in your career path and will open a lot of doors for you. Let’s get started and count why an internship is vital to career growth.

You can check here the available internships for Summer 2022

 

6 reasons why you need to do an internship:

1- This is your first exposure to the real world

Today’s market is very picky, and your exam results and degree are not enough. Proven work experience is an asset in successfully passing the hiring processes and being successful in the workspace.
By being part of an internship, you will be able to gain real-life exposure, improve your knowledge, and determine if you are in the right career field. Internships not only provide you with first-hand experience in the real working world but also enable you to understand the career path for your desired job title. You can learn how to apply the knowledge you have acquired during an internship to your future workplaces. 

 

2- Internships teach you how to be professional

In the working world, it’s all about who you know.
As an intern, you will be surrounded by professionals in the industry, and you will get the chance to watch, learn, ask questions and gain experience from them. This will help you grow and be more professional by learning more about work ethics and how to communicate and work professionally.

 

3- You will establish networking with professionals in the field

As we mentioned before, during the internship you will get the chance to meet professional colleagues and interact with them. This will lead you to the next important step: making professional connections and establishing a great network of people in your career.

You can consider this as one of the great benefits of doing an internship, as this is one of the biggest reasons why you may find a job through a “friend referral”. 

With referrals, there’s a ready-made reference and employers tend to believe they’re better workers because current employees should know who’s likely to be a good fit. As a result, they get faster reviews and responses, and vastly better hire rates. 

4- Internships help you build confidence and learn more about yourself

Internships will help you gain a lot of skills like public speaking, giving presentations, brainstorming, teamwork, and skills that will help you grow technically, as well as personally. The confidence you will build in the internship will help you believe in yourself and learn more about what you can do and what you still need to learn to manage it.
Always remember: Practice makes perfect! 

 

5- It allows you to put new things into practice and acquire technical skills

If you are lucky and you got the chance to do an internship this summer, Congratulations you’re halfway there. If you are still searching, you can look here for some available internships for summer 2022. 

Internships help you test out specific techniques learned in the classroom before entering the working world. It’s an opportunity to apply what you have learned in a safe environment where mistakes are expected – rather than learn the hard way in your first job out of college.

This atmosphere will also allow you to understand the difference between just learning the skill, and actually practicing it, which will build you a strong base of acquired skills that will be your future asset while handing over your cv for a new job opportunity. 

 

6- Doing an internship is your transition into a job

A lot of companies use internships as a way to enhance their recruitment efforts. In some cases, a company may decide to hire an intern at the end of the assignment. Even if a job offer doesn’t happen right away, an intern who makes a favorable impression could receive an offer down the line when an opening occurs. It’s a way for companies to test out an employee before committing to hiring them.

As we mentioned before, internships and building a good network of connections can indirectly help you get a job with a friend’s help. 

Whether you get a job in the same company where you were an intern or through a friend referral, you are winning both ways and sooner or later you will easily hunt for a job.

When and how can you start? 

One of the most inspiring quotes I’ve ever read is: “A year from now, you wish you had started today”. So, start now!

You can start by creating a professional profile for yourself, even if you’re still a student, some professional websites like LinkedIn will help you discover more and reach out to the companies that offer internships this summer. 

Or you can contact us directly at Switchbird Malta and we know exactly how to place you where you belong and get you the perfect internship that matches your skills. 

Conclusion

To sum up, you need to know that internships play a critical role in shaping your career path and help you know what you need to learn, how to apply what you’ve learned, make good connections with professional people and be professional yourself, see what the real world looks like and learn the required skills to adapt and decide your next step for hunting for a promising job.