Internship Reflection Paper: Workshops and Company Tours for English Majors

If studying at university is one way for students to learn academic knowledge, the internship is an opportunity for them to acquire practical experience. This internship is an activity organized by our university to provide immeasurable experience of many career paths for English majors. I have learned a great deal from these workshops and company tours, which leads me to have a chance to reflect myself in preparation for my future career.

To begin this internship reflection essay, there are a number of discoveries that I made when I attended the workshops at the university. The first workshop was about interpretation and translation. The speaker – Phat – introduced all types of jobs in this field. For example, regarding interpretation, there are two main kinds of interpreting: consecutive interpreting and simultaneous interpreting. This major is one of the most challenging majors which requires a great amount of deep knowledge and experience about specific subjects as well as levering our strengths to tackle customers’ problems. One thing that I have learned from this workshop is the way we correct our mistakes. If we recognize that we interpreted wrongly, we should immediately apologize to the committee for this before the end of our presentation. The point is integrity, which results in trust and success in all careers. Additionally, he encouraged those who want to be a good interpreter or a translator to read more books, magazines and build up their vocabularies in both Vietnamese and English. The second workshop was about the other field, teaching English, especially for young learners. The speaker – Ngoc – covered a wide range of aspects of teaching, from students’ levels, international certificates to some guidelines when dealing with children and how to make their parents happy. She also provided some hints for the recruiters when it comes to offering salaries.

Company tours gave us valuable and specific experience not only in three main majors at university but also in others. Firstly, traveling to Tre publishing house allowed me to have an insight in the system of a publishing house. Moreover, I could get many preparation steps before becoming a translator. Secondly, Mantu and Fosco gave me a chance to explore a new area which is human resources. Both of them are a good international environment for personal development and learning from others. Furthermore, attending the workshops is a way for me to imagine the current job market, events, and the departments of a company, which is a more effective way of learning than studying at school or university. The speakers showed us the must-have skills that the candidates need to equip before beginning an internship. In the Mantu company field trip, I acquired a great amount of knowledge of how to create a CV and the way that I can highlight it to win the impression of the recruiters. A website called Linkedin is very useful for looking for a part-time or a steady job.

Through this trip to three companies, I share the concerns of the growing interdependence of the world as well as which skills are essential for my future career. One thing that I learned is that the development of science and technology has changed the structure of work. This means people no longer need to do heavy work by themselves. Instead, they can use machines. For sample, Mantu is a company in charge of changing from traditional to modern systems. Secondly, competition has been growing and people have to constantly improve themselves. With this in mind, I should learn soft skills and problem-solving skills in order to deal with problems when faced with. Presentation, public speaking, time management, and analytical skills also play a vital role in every area. Therefore, the job market is more and more competitive. Being able to use Japanese and the ability to acquire knowledge from books are my advantages. The right mindset is the key to success. I believe that I have to change my mind from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset and unleash my potential.

Despite the aforementioned issues in this internship reflection, it is important for me to acknowledge my outcomings and make planning out how to overcome them. After two years, I have a chance to come with great theoretical knowledge about skills. Initially, I think the way I access information is the problem. In today’s world, information is available when people just lick a mouse. Nevertheless, the reason to be selective is that much available information is not particularly useful. Through these field trips, I consider that I was not being details oriented enough and I found it necessary to upgrade my existing understanding from time to time. So, research skills play a vital role in looking for reliable information. Simultaneously, keeping abreast of the technology changes to apply the latest developments in our field is increasingly essential. I also have made a plan to jump into a real part-time job to experience in my own job and open to receive feedbacks from others to ameliorate myself. This allows me to learn how to confront with work situations.

These company tours and workshops are beneficial to my academic knowledge. They gave me a preparation for and awareness of the opportunities in my future career. Working as an intern taught me how to manage my time and work within a lean schedule, all of which allow me to further develop my skill set. This internship reflection paper illustrated my workshops and company tour experience, internship experience, and learning experience. 

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