In The Careerpedia, a publication of Story Moja, Muthoni Muchemi posits that in a laboratory, people put into practice what they have learnt in class or books. Therefore, she equates internship or attachment to laboratory of world of work.
It precedes job placement and employment that brings enjoyment. The practical work experiences, networks and connections that are made; are useful than moolah earned. No wonder, in this write-up, I will focus on three basic aspects that N.A. Salemi recommends in his heroic book titled How to Win Your Dream Job. I will present them in form of three quality questions: What do you do during internship? What are the terrific habits of interns? What are the terrible habits of interns?
Ideally, internship is a job that lasts for a short stint, which someone – especially a student – does in order to explore and gain extra expertise, experience and exposure. Most professions have this precious period. It is the prime time of attachment which precedes job placement or employment. It is the time you work as an apprentice because you yearn to learn more about the tricks and techniques of your trade.
Internship is your first formal step into the exciting corporate world. For you to access success, you must carry out yourself as a budding executive. This period varies depending on the organisation, company or institution. During this time, someone works for free. Serendipitously, some places append a stipend to it.
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In a broader sense, internship is an opportunity to learn terrain of work. It is during the time of internship that you ascertain whether the company meets your inherent interests and talents. Such information is vital because it helps you to make a long-term commitment.
Somehow, apart from the exhilarating exposure to the world of work, starting as an intern, as we see the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), encourages tutors to do, gives the future teacher infinite spectra of opportunities to try different duties and job functions. The intern learns useful soft skills. In the whole scheme of things – a lot of experience is gained in the process.
What to do during internship?
Cultivate healthy relationship with people you meet and interact with in the corridors of work. Take time to learn the ropes about world of work. Get a good platform to employ the requisite knowledge and useful skills you have acquired so far.
Go the extra mile. Assist your seniors in the department. Add value to the organisation as per your ability and capacity. Learn the dynamics of inter-dependence in the process of warm interactions. Do not forget to be a good ambassador of your alma mater – former school, teachers and your own background.
What are the terrific habits of interns?
Wise interns take things seriously. They dress up like corporate executives, and not like serious jokers. They stay distinguished as interns. They guard their self-image and reputation like a tray of eggs. They respect, then adhere to the policies of the organisation they are attached to. They have a fat appetite for knowledge, insights and ideas. They are always ready to learn. Meaning, they do not display a spectre of ‘I-know-it-all-attitude’.
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They cultivate healthy relationships with their work mates. They finish their assignments within the stipulated time frame. They manage to beat deadlines. They always seek for counsel, advice, guidance and direction. They are people with sweet and pleasant personalities. They finish their internship on a positive note, and stay in touch with their former seniors and supervisors. They do that through sporadic phone calls, sending emails and missives, or occasional walk-ins.
What are the terrible habits of interns?
They take internships as picnic trips, leisure spots, holiday recess, or fattening camps. They eat like gluttons. They have an attitude of finitude and lassitude. They are lousy, lackadaisical and lazy – they get tired before they do the job. They lack self-discipline, self-drive and self-control.
They do not care about code of conduct, work ethics and professionalism. They think an internship is a time to get out of the boring rigmarole of study and academia. They do not care about decency in matters dress code. They do not know that people address you the way you dress. They appear careless, casual and informal. They are not keen on their behaviour.
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They begin drinking, smoking, or become sex slaves. They use vulgar and obscene language. They join gossip groups and organisation bashers. They gain poisonous tongues to criticise anything, everything and everyone. Their loose lips, sink ships. They mutate to fault-finders. They have a pessimistic or defeatist attitude. They do a lot of nothing in the organisation. They only leave behind a reputation of being spoilt brats.
They get into conflicts with other employees because of irresponsible talk, empty rhetoric, pettiness and tiny-mindedness. They waste company resources by chatting, shooting junk emails and taking out unnecessary print outs. Other employees and supervisors say good riddance, breathe with ease when their internship period expires.
By Victor Ochieng’
The writer trains university and college students on soft skills and employability skills.
vochieng.90@gmail.com. 0704420232
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