The Role of Internship in Career Development

Traditional internships have been a western concept, but it has spread across the world and has a role to play in a student’s life. Statistics say that in 2016, the amount has gradually increased as twice than in a 20th century. It is a form of work-based learning where academic knowledge is applied to the organization. During an internship, college students observe, learn and take responsibilities by actively participating in some duties assigned to them and eventually it supports the company’s business endeavors. In simple words, the internship act as a connection between academic learning and actual workplace operations. Both the organizations and students get mutually benefited. Students in various fields take internship programs as a part of their academics.

Many colleges and teachers guide the interns and support the students in getting aright company for their internships. Nowadays due to technological advancements and growing organizations, there is a lot of opportunities for the students to find relevant companies for pursuing their internships. It gives the students a wholesome experience by making them updated on current workplace business operations. There is a number of websites available for the students to make the search for their internships. One of the leading magazines has published that “Internshala” has been the most preferred online portal for internship search for students in India. In a survey conducted by Internshala, it was found that there was1700 internship positions in 2011 and the number has increased to to2.65 lakhs in2016. It shows the tremendous growth pattern in companies offering internship opportunities to students.

Companies can uplift students career: With a growing number of organizations and startups hire interns, students have a variety of choices to choose their career. Internships as an experimental learning and hands-on experience for the students other than knowledge from books alone. Sometimes, the stipend is paid in order to motivate and appreciate the intern's work. Since most of the colleges allow their students to work during the summer holidays, this makes the students spend a meaningful time at the company, to know about their operations and a chance to apply the studied theoretical concepts into practice. Management is a vast field of marketing, sales, operations, HR, and finance and it is the most happening sector with many internships. An organization comprises of about48% of management students as their staff. Engineering graduates and also few other sectors like food, media, and others form the rest of 52%. Most organizations face the problem of getting an efficient and smart workforce. So, Internships facilitate as a tool to solve this problem and it also reduces the requirement of in numerous training and workshops that cost the company.

Many companies provide Pre-Placement Offers (PPO’s) to the best interns when they finish their graduation. This is a mutually effective strategy for the company to get best out of the fresh talent pool and the student gets placed in a place where they have already experienced how it feels like to work there. Nowadays, being competitive is a very big boon for the company’s economy. There are online websites that are very much useful for students to search for internships with their preferences. Some such websites are Internshala, Twenty19, Letsintern, etc. Internship – Definitely has a role in career development: Millennials are eager about opportunities and are open to stepping out of their comfort zones to experience new situations to learn, to handle and to gain the feel of having a sense of accountability.

For this, they require internships where a proper mentor and coach can guide them throughout their tenure. It aids the college students to adapt better to the work culture. These days people want to start a new enterprise, internship experience helps the students to start their own company and their career. Internships play a major role in developing the career of students. Many organizations value the student’s hard work in terms of stipend. This also is an experience that makes the student adapt to the culture of getting compensated for performing a Job role as an Intern. Internships have a very strong impact in building a successful career for college students from varied backgrounds and education, which acts as an experimental form of learning. I being a student who has interned in few places realized its importance and value which inspired me to write this article.