I was privileged to be an intern at one of the most prestigious advertising agencies here in the Philippines. I say the experience here was not a walk in the park. Simply put, you get what you give. Being an intern is like watching a movie trailer; a bad trailer results in a smaller audience and good trailers, a bigger audience. Testimonials help you be better. Here are some of the most crucial lessons I learned from being an Intern.
Lessons from Being an Intern
Internship is the first step to the real world. You can laugh about it, you can play around with your tasks or you can just go with the flow, but at the end of the day, the comments you receive from your boss proves otherwise. The company will allow you inside their walls; you have to show you have a purpose and contribute. If not, better go back to school.
Learning the ABC doesn’t mean learning just 3 letters. When tasks are given to you, learn to get a deeper sense why you are performing these tasks. Don’t just hit and run on a particular task without knowing the essence of it. Ask yourself these questions to understand what your efforts are for; “who benefits from this?”, “what is this for?”, and “what happens after this?” You are a robot if you fail to do this.
So What Did I Learn?
ASK. It’s free. It’s the most powerful tool to actually gain something, without expense. Guessing at the workplace is very risky. You are not in a school setting anymore where you can still afford to commit amateur mistakes. In the real world, one vital mistake can set the course of your whole career. It doesn’t hurt to seek answers and superiors during this stage are very lenient to giving answers so take advantage of it. Once you take the driver’s seat, questions should already be answers.
SPEED x QUALITY = DETERMINES WORK. This formula is just a basic guide for every task you may encounter. Speed can be fast, moderate or slow. Quality is just simple; it can be either good or bad. Mathematically, it’s just a positive digit or a 0. So no matter how fast or how slow your outputs are, the quality of work still defines and determines the kind of work you present. So on every work or task you may encounter during this period, do the math.
SPEED is EVERYTHING. Don’t just let go of that factor. In a school setting, schedules are planned way before the first day of school. The real thing is much different; it’s a fast paced world out there. Deadlines may change in a snap; requirements act like land-mines. In short, you really have to prepare yourself. Being able to adapt, multi-task and work under pressure is a must.
FOLLOW WELL TO LEAD WELL. If you listen, then you can respond. Great leaders are not strict, feared and hard bosses, they are the ones who know their people and carry each one up. Great leaders were once followers, they’ve experienced the best of both worlds so they are able to empathize and relate to ALL the people surrounding them. Internship is the following stage. If you do well, you will too when the time comes for you to lead.
YOU CANNOT JUST NOT CARE. Companies are like guitars. One string snapped will make the whole thing ineffective. Meaning, every move is important. In all tasks given, you better give your best shot. Mediocrity will get you nowhere. So as an intern, do not underestimate your efforts, do it with quality and do it with your best efforts. In the real world, that’s what all company wants. The best.
So for those people taking their internship programs and those who will be taking theirs in the future? Make sure you are ready. Being an intern is no joke. Do your best to gain the company’s trust and who knows, they might absorb you in the future. I personally suggest to always bring your A-Game.
How did you like being an intern? Are you yet to be one? Do share your thoughts in the comments!
Featured image from Wikicommons, retrieved on February 1, 2013.
About Rocky Estallo
