Summer internships are very funny, in the sense that you get to meet so many new people who are trying (read pretending) to be the most deserving intern that the firm has ever seen, working their backsides off to impress everyone around them and putting on a great entertaining show for everyone every other day.
Here are a few hypothetical intern personas that I might have/haven't met during my internship. Read on to find out if you met any of these interns during your internship:
1. The DES(P)PO Intern
/dɛs-pi pi o/
adjective
1. (of a summer intern) willing to go to any lengths to grab a Pre Placement Offer
If you've ever done an internship in your life, you've definitely met a Des(p)po - that guy who slithers like a snake in every team party, making small talk with every manager or that girl who brings cupcakes for everyone in the team every alternate day.
No? That guy faking a foreign accent to impress his co-workers or that girl interested in which school the manager's kids go to?
Still No? I'm sure you met that guy who went to every member in his team and offered his unsolicited inputs on their project and that girl who made notes about all the important people in the team with their likes and dislikes.
Whatttttt? Still a No?
I know for a fact your co-interns got to see one :P!
2. The COCKY Intern
S is a know-it-all. He's into 2 clubs, 3 SIGs, 4 AIGs and head of the student council at his college. For some strange reason, S has done every kind of work in his past work experience (or out of interest) - S knows how to take a company out of losses, how to build a rocket ship, how to fix a flat tyre, how to ...
never-mind, you get my point!
Now, you'd never be able to know S's desire towards a PPO from his actions. He'd be abusing the firm all day long making you hate the firm too but at the same time he'd be working his ass off on the project. He is a cheeky intern correcting all the co-interns around him, mocking the lazy HR team, and advising his supervisor to use better colour schemes for the PPT.
He is super-hated in the intern gang. He sees team parties as his redemption ground where he tries to make awkward small talk with the team-members but more often than not, his Karma strikes back and by the end of the party, he is usually seen sitting alone in the bar gulping down expensive whisky.
3. The PARANOID Intern
Trust me, you have not seen a more unhappy person in life than this paranoid intern!
The interns belonging to this category endure at least 5 episodes of panic attacks on an average, every day. Their panic starts in the morning cab when the arrival time gets delayed by 2 minutes, accentuates when by mistake they make a spelling error in the mail they sent and reaches its peak when their manager suddenly pings them in the middle of the afternoon. They live in a constant fear of their PPO moving away from them and spend most of their time telling others how they goofed up.
However clumsy these interns might seem in their paranoid world, in reality, they are quite efficient. They usually push through their limits as a result of fear, and more often than not deliver much more than what was expected of them.
4. The HOGGER Intern
This is a special category of interns, usually found in consulting firms (no offence meant). Starbucks mints, Perrier sparkling water, Glenfiddich as coke substitutes, Matcha green tea, Caesar salads, Orix cabs,
you-name-it-these-interns-ordered-it just because it was on the house. For two months, the purpose of their life revolved around reimbursing the last penny of their daily limit.
To subdue their daily stress level, they would flock from one 7 seven-star hotel to another, overcoming their anxiety by drowning in Caol ila's buzz and feasting on a 5-course meal at one of many Taj Souks. By the end of the internship, these hoggers have enough hotel points to enjoy a week's
staycation in any luxury hotel in India.
Surely, these interns have made the best use of their internships.
5. The JOBLESS Intern
Luckily or unluckily, every year, there are a few interns who never get to work upon a real project during the two months of internship. Their companies have enough funds to pay for their stipend but don't have enough projects to make them work.
Now, since there is no real work and they have 720 hours worth of joblessness, why not make the most of it?
They are in a new city and they want to meet new people. And, of course, there's no better way to meet new people than
Tinder! Download
Happn and
Bumble too, because you know, risk hedging has a practical application too ;)! And since there's a lot of supply of free money, why not subscribe to cult-fit's membership too. I mean, of course, an internship is the perfect time to work upon those new year resolutions. Their Instagram stories have the power to create a mass-FOMO in the intern world.
You-only-summer intern-once so you
splurge-like-there's-no tomorrow on all the right resources (
if you know what I mean).
The Hoggers might have enjoyed a more luxurious internship, but the chill factor of these jobless interns' couldn't be one-uped!
I am sure you guys must have had funnier experiences with the co-interns during your internships.
Tell us about all the different kinds of weirdos you met during internships in the comments section below :)
Also check: Summer Internship Experiences of Other Students