Importance of an Internship: How Does it Shape Your Future?.

Given that dozens of companies are posting internship opportunities, making the right choice can be tough. You may have genuine concerns like:

In this blog, we’ll answer all your questions regarding the real benefits of internships for students, how to apply for an internship, how to add an internship to your resume, and the types of internships available today.

An internship is a short-term opportunity for freshers or students to work as trainees in an organization. Typically, an internship can last anywhere from 2 to 6 months and lead to a full-time offer. As an intern, you can expect to work on a variety of tasks, under the supervision of a manager.

Internships can be on-site, online, or hybrid, depending on the company hiring. Businesses usually hire interns to augment their in-house teams and inform their future hiring strategy. It’s a low-risk way to gauge whether it would take a full-time employee to do justice to a specific role or whether a contract-based position would suffice.

An internship can enable you to:

In the last few years, companies in India have started to prioritize real-world skills over degrees. College degrees may provide you with theoretical knowledge. However, they generally don’t focus on skill-building. An internship enables you to learn new skills and apply them in a real-world environment, understand how to meet deadlines, interact with colleagues and clients, and work towards team goals.

If you are confused between two or more careers, no amount of reading or networking can help as much as direct experience. An internship familiarizes you with the ins and outs of a career— day-to-day responsibilities, skills, career paths, average salary and benefits, market demand, growth potential, etc. This gives you a better perspective on what career best fits your interests, background, and financial goals.

Networking events can help you find mentors, but nothing compares to an internship. When you’re a part of their team, they are invested in your success. In other words, you get to understand why they do what they do. This know-why can be invaluable in terms of understanding how businesses and recruiters think. You get to learn while you earn.

While a job-oriented course can boost your employment prospects after graduation, pairing it with an internship makes you much more attractive to recruiters. Research shows that you are 94% more likely to be hired if you have completed an internship. In other words, an internship helps you go from a fresher to a professional in a relatively short time.

If you are diligent, an internship is likely to turn into a full-time offer. Many employers specifically mention this in their job descriptions. Businesses often use internships to test their assumptions about hiring for certain roles without additional overhead. Once you’ve proved your worth, you may even be promoted faster than the average fresher.

Applying for internships is not about quantity; it’s about quality. Here’s how you can play to win:

Once you’ve decided on the type of internship you want to do, optimize your resume with relevant skills, projects, courses, or seminars you may have taken.

Send a follow-up email directly to the company’s HR team with your resume and a cover letter. It can increase the odds of you getting noticed.

A good rule of thumb is to apply before 10 AM local time, and no more than 24 to 48 hours after a job is posted online. Applicants who apply later are at a disadvantage because of the sheer number of applications most jobs tend to receive.

Compared to unpaid opportunities, paid internships are relatively few. Similarly, some internships may only be available for current college students. Read job postings carefully to see if it is a good fit in terms of skills, mode and hours of work, stipend, learning opportunities, full-time potential, etc.

Watch out for fake internships where you may be asked to pay money to get your certificate.

Explain ‘why’ you want the role and ‘how’ your career goals align with the employer’s. Show that you are willing to learn and have the drive to succeed in your chosen career. This will help you connect with the recruiter and increase your chances of being shortlisted.

Before you can start applying, research the different job titles that companies use to refer to the role you’re looking for. For this, you can use job portals and professional networking sites like Naukri, Indeed, and LinkedIn. Sign up for job alerts and notifications so you can quickly compare different openings and apply to the best ones.

There are multiple ways to find internships, both online and offline.

As a fresher, you should include your internship on the very first page of your resume, preferably above your education section. You can put it under the “Experience” head and use bullet points to describe your responsibilities and quantify any achievements.

It’s hard for freshers to stand out in a competitive job market. The right internship can help you apply your skills and grow as a professional. However, you have to fight a constant battle—search for new opportunities across multiple platforms, identify the best ones, customize your resume, create a cover letter, and apply on time. Months may go by before you hear back from a recruiter.

When you sign up with GroYouth, we do all the heavy lifting for you. Our smart software analyzes your profile and career preferences and automatically recommends the perfect roles—from the top employers across the country. Our team of experts mentors you in terms of career options, interview FAQs, resume prep, and more. We provide free learning resources to help you ace tough situations and land that dream job.

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