Random Day Two: Another good Tuesday morning. Endless sips of coffee. Desperate attempts at keeping those body withdrawal symptoms at bay. Amidst this series of monotonic events, I receive a call from my guide who’s away on business asking me to raise a travel request to the nearest ‘Grain Silo’ plant in the city. An instant appointment with the busiest head of the plant had been scheduled. This is my chance to glean an ample lot of valuable project-related information. Tidying up, I pull myself together, chalking down this set of the questionnaire I long intended to ask upon. Once at the plan, I’m assisted by this very amicable Head of Operations of the plant who dispels an inside-out knowledge about the market extant, the suppliers, the manufacturers, and the prospect of business and functioning of the plant in its entirety. In the end, I pat myself on the back for having accumulated a whole load of stuff to present before my mentor. I am told I’ll be embarking on more such trips outside the city in a bid to interrogate more such prudent people and grasp more discernible clarity upon the project at hand. The visit did make my day!
I have always felt at home in this place. Such is the kind of belongingness you can find here. You just bump into a ‘someone’ in the washroom or the lift and you are all stuffed with a mountain of friendly exchanges and good vibes. Every first person out here greets you with an overwhelming smile and every second person is willing to help you out with whatever it is that you need, be it information, consolation or anything of sorts. The managers and others with higher denominations are all utterly collaborative and informative. You feel welcomed and are embraced as if you are their very own employee. I shall now walk you through the major takeaways I received from this very benevolent behemoth during my brief stay here.
- An improved set of skills. One of the most significant things I take away from my internship is my new found knowledge, which includes knowing how to fulfill tasks pertinent to my desired career path. In addition to that, I have spent time sharpening and honing the skills I already possessed. Having a sense of the skills and experiences I want to gain from an internship at the start allows me to be intentional in working towards my goals. For there goes the adorable adage by Lincoln, “If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I would spend 6 of those hours sharpening my axe.” Preparation, folks, is more than necessary.
- New connections. In addition to those people who you hope will act as references in the future, one should walk away from an internship with a handful of new connections: senior employees, clients, fellow interns, etc. These people can provide real valuable guidance and advice and aid me in future job searches. One should take the time to get to know as many people in the office as possible and learn everything that they can teach them. Then, say thanks and keep in touch.
- A greater sense of professionalism. Working in an office environment (or any kind of professional setting) can be difficult to get used to - and the best (perhaps only) way to learn how to navigate the working world is through real life, hands-on experience. After my internship, I have a better idea of the appropriate way to behave as a professional and a sense of how to play the game of office politics. An internship is my first exposure to a professional work setting. I appreciate the opportunity to observe workplace culture and see how professionals interact with one another and conduct themselves.
- More confidence in my career direction. An internship is an opportunity to test out a career field of interest. By the end of it, I now have a clearer idea of whether or not I really do want to enter that field or pursue that occupation.
- Completed projects and presentations. Besides new knowledge and better business etiquette, I have been able to walk away with tangible evidence of what I’ve accomplished. For example: the presentations that I gave, articles I wrote, or designs I have created. Whenever possible, I have tried to have some kind of physical or digital place to showcase my work to future potential employers.
- Feedback. The best way to learn from your performance is to ask for feedback from those with whom you worked. Remember not to get defensive. If you actually listen to the constructive criticism and take it to heart, you'll be an even better employee in the future. And if you know what you're doing well, you can deploy those attributes to sell yourself as a strong candidate to employers later on.
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