Throughout my time as a college student, I’ve been able to take part in multiple internships that have each taught me something valuable. I am grateful to have had the chance to partake in these internships, as I know that not everyone has the privilege to accept an unpaid position or one that pays less than retail or customer service.
But either way, even if the lessons learned have absolutely nothing to do with the industry a company is classified under, they are still relevant in helping you put together the puzzle of choosing a fitting career path.
My experiences have taught me about the importance of gaining confidence and setting boundaries.
When the COVID-19 pandemic first swept the world in waves, a sense of uncertainty and an abundance of free time came crashing down with it. With classes quickly moved online and social events flat-out cancelled, I — like most other college students — spent the majority of my time at home waiting for the pandemic to end and longing for any kind of distraction from academics.
In an attempt to appease my desperation and cure this boredom, I found myself blindly applying to remote internships. I didn’t expect any responses as I attached my less-than-stellar resumé to application after application on Handshake.
To my surprise, I was soon accepted into my first internship as a marketing and business development intern. I felt unqualified, as I had never taken a marketing or business class in my life.
Though I certainly learned how to strategize in social media marketing and how to design a webpage, the most notable result of this experience was that it gave me the confidence I needed to see that working in the real world isn’t as scary as it may seem. As I collaborated with other interns, participated during brainstorming sessions and met with my supervisor, I slowly became more comfortable with working for a company and making contributions to it.
With a little more trust in myself, my ambitious adventure of applying to any internship that came my way via Handshake began. Hooked on the idea of gaining a glance into the working world without a requirement of commitment, I immediately sent the new, longer resumé out with the hopes that my one work experience would draw someone’s attention.
However, a subsequent internship position that I soon accepted taught me a completely different lesson.
As I worked as a social media intern following my prior internship, I learned a great amount about managing posts and targeting the right audience. Yet, what really stuck with me from this experience was how I was forced to learn the importance of setting boundaries to prevent burnout.
The constant absorption of lengthy text messages and emails of work-related information was too overwhelming for my tired brain. It made me resent doing work because I felt like I couldn’t get a break.
I had heard people talk about it before but never realized the utter necessity of setting limits to the amount of work you do per day. By not looking at messages and not tackling any projects after work hours ended, I was able to relax and find motivation again to succeed during this internship.
From these experiences, I was able to access both the positive and harsh truths of the working world that I had only heard about in stories from adults. I feel grateful to have had these experiences before entering the workforce.
Though some majors require an internship to graduate, I believe everyone — regardless of their major — should try to complete at least one internship.
Internships offer life experience that you can’t learn from listening to a lecture in a classroom. I think it is worth it to take advantage of the life lessons that interning provides before finishing college. It can show you what you like about a certain profession, but also sides of a job that you may have never expected.
Kara Acinapuro (she/her) is a junior studying media advertising with a minor in marketing. She is Vice President of Women in Media and a member of CHAARG and Alpha Phi Omega.
