
Getting an internship can be tricky, but that doesn’t mean that it really has to be that way. You just need to step back and decide what you honestly want to intern in, and how difficult it would be to get into that organization. The truth is that many companies use interns as a form of cheap or even free labor, getting them to do grunt work in exchange for a glowing recommendation.
So the first thing that you have to do is get your mind right. You don’t want to feel like you’re above going with an internship. That would just be silly. That just wouldn’t make sense. That would just be something that gets you into the wrong line of thinking. The truth is that companies interview thousands of people in their lifespan. So by the time you get there, they are looking at you in the perspective of everyone else. In other words, there’s nothing that they haven’t heard, and nothing that they haven’t seen. Don’t try to walk into a company thinking that you know everything. An internship, after all, is all about learning. An internship is a space where you get to make mistakes without having them cost you everything.
If you’re going to get a good internship, you need to think about the skills that you are bringing to the table. Have you run a small business in the past? Talk about it. Sharing your experiences can show them that you understand handling multiple tasks at one time. Even if you didn’t make money, it’s a lesson that will stick with you for a very long time.
Don’t be afraid to ask the company offering you an internship questions. That’s what they are there for. In fact, if you don’t get some answers to your questions, that’s a sign that they really can’t handle interns and you will not have a good experience.
Unfortunately, a lot of people think that they have to be completely fake and plastic, agreeing with whatever the company wants them to agree with. Those interns do not serve the company’s highest purposes either. You have to look at things from a different point of view in order to really make sure that you get things taken care of. Why wouldn’t you want to get things handled properly?
If you can help it, get a paid internship. This doesn’t mean that you’re going to necessarily get paid a lot of money, but it does mean that you will still be able to cover your bills. If you are going to go with an unpaid internship, it needs to be top notch. You want to go with a company that really has something that they want interns to do. That way, you will literally be able to get things moving forward.
What about the recommendation? You have to make sure that you are getting a solid recommendation from the company. This doesn’t need to take long to produce, and you can even give them a draft of what you would like to have said and just let them sign off on it. Either way, they’re endorsing you and that’s definitely a good thing.
It can be discouraging to get turned down from your first internship opportunity, but don’t let it get to you. In the world of entrepreneurship, there’s nothing that says that you can’t build your own internship needs through hard work and determination. Good luck!