When you’re in university, it’s easy to become really narrow-minded. I know, you’re going to tell me that there’s enough room for both the left-wing and the right-leaning students at uOttawa, and that there are enough clubs here to make your head spin. What I’m talking about though is the slowly-forming tunnel vision of graduation.
When you first start university, you’re excited. You want to go to parties, hit up all the bars, and meet new people. Then you start worrying about classes and your next due date. Then comes the final stage of tunnel vision: worrying about money. Suddenly, everything you do is about making more money: graduate early so that I can start work; take fewer classes so that I can work extra shifts… Sound familiar? I’m here to tell you to stop, take a minute, and look for an internship. Seriously.
Internships are flexible
Internships are pretty much like volunteering for your resume, or like adding a class or two to your schedule. There are a plethora of them available in the city and many more abroad. On top of that, they’re usually pretty flexible. Companies who offer internships expect you to be a student, so they know that you won’t be coming in 9-5 every day. They’re usually pretty open to working around your classes, as long as you keep up with your tasks.
Learning for the real world
Additionally, an internship is a hands-on experience that turns everything you learned in school into real skills. Surprise! The skills that you need in the classroom aren’t the same as the ones that you’ll need to excel in the workplace. You’ll need to learn how to ask for criticism, how to sit at a desk for hours on end, how to fill in pay sheets and use Excel like a pro. It doesn’t take long to learn these workplace skills, but they’ll be a huge asset when you go out to find your first paid job after university.
Internships are performance-based
Here’s another great part about internships: they’re performance-based. Your experience will be a reflection of the effort you put into your work. If you’re driven and have a lot of initiative, you’ll be able take a lot from your internship. For those of you with a competitive spirit, this is a great way to show people what you’re good at, and to perfect new abilities. This is especially true since more and more employers expect to see internships on their prospects’ resumes. Go show your future employer what you’re capable of!
How to find an internship
There are several ways to go about finding an internship. The easiest is to send an email directly to the company that you’re interested in working with. You should include your name, your year and field of study, why you’re interested, how you heard about their company, and why you think that you’d be a good fit.
You can also find internships through organizations that are designed to help match you with professionals. The following is a list of said organizations:
Be bold, brave and beautiful
An internship could lead you to your future job. It could also bring you half-way around the world, or into a field that you never dreamed of working in. Be open to new possibilities. Don’t be afraid to try for what you want, even if it seems out of your league. As a wise young lady once told me, the worst they can do is not accept you; the best thing you can do is try.
Photo credits:
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