I'm sure you've heard by now that an internship while you're in college or in the first year after you graduate can help you land your dream job. Here are some of the ways that my internships in editing and marketing have helped me, both in the job search and in my education!
1. Professional communications:
One of the most valuable skills that I have gained from my internships is the ability to speak with people in a professional setting. Discussions with bosses or coworkers are different from discussions with professors or fellow students, and an internship is the perfect place to observe how people in a professional setting interact. It's also a great opportunity to practice that communication style yourself. This will help you a lot when you start interviewing for jobs, because you will be more confident and will sound more mature and experienced in a business setting.
2. Networking:
As an intern, I learned how important networking is for my future career. Connecting with people in my desired career path through my internships has led me to solidify my desire to work in editing, and I now have mentors to turn to when I have questions regarding the field and my work. I am also now more confident when it comes to talking to potential coworkers and employers in my field, because I gained experience in that while an intern.
3. Taking criticism:
It can be difficult to be told that you need to improve upon something or that you completed a task incorrectly. As an intern, I learned how to handle criticism with grace (both from watching coworkers receive criticism and from receiving criticism myself), which also built my confidence in a professional setting. Since I already had a trial run in the workplace as an intern, I know now that I can handle criticism maturely, and I know how to respond to it professionally and respectfully, which will definitely help me in my career.
4. Leadership, confidence, and responsibility:
While I was an intern, I was responsible for various areas of the business for which I worked. I had guidance and mentors, but I did have to make decisions on my own. Through these experiences, I developed a sense of leadership (especially with regards to speaking for and defending my ideas and decisions, not to mention actually making decisions!), confidence (along with taking ownership of my decisions and their outcomes), and responsibility (my decisions would impact the business). These traits are invaluable when it comes to a career, and an internship is the perfect place to learn and perfect them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Teddi Strassburger will be graduating from Georgia College in Milledgeville, GA in May 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a minor in French. She is the editor-in-chief of The Corinthian, Georgia College’s student research journal, and she is currently interning as a copy-editor. When she isn’t playing with words, Teddi can be found giving tours on campus, watching movies about space and/or superheroes, and trying to plan another trip to Paris. You can find her at her LinkedIn.
