Starting an internship can be both a very exciting and a rather stressful experience. Not to mention the hardships one goes through just to find one! Nonetheless, every internship experience is very different and insightful in its own way. My experience as an intern was a frenzy of valuable discoveries about my own abilities and attitude in all sorts of situations at work. I would like to share some of my stories and tips on how to survive the unexpected turns your internship journey might take, and hopefully make you feel more ready too!
I like to be prepared for everything, so I started my internship with a clear plan in my head of how things were supposed to go. I can break it to you now – barely anything went according to my plan. I thought my internship would be simple, helping with tasks, observing experienced colleagues, and working on some projects that were assigned to me. I soon found out, though, that those projects were far more challenging and dynamic. The tasks intertwined with other departments and people outside my team, and they were more complex than expected. It is very important to be flexible and always available for new experiences. You should use this opportunity to ask for help, have coffee breaks with people who work in different fields or projects interesting to you. This way you can get motivated and inspired to try out something new!
Juggling work and personal life was another one of the unforeseen challenges, which I thought I already got a hang of before the internship started. However, studies and personal life can be different. Rather than with any university assignment, which you can delve into at any time of the day, work has strict 9 to 5 schedule. Even with a proper routine, I sometimes would fail to meet my work objectives for the day, and, as a perfectionist, I struggled not to feel unaccomplished. So, my tip for myself and you – do not interrupt your personal time with the obligations of your internship. Strive for balance, develop a better routine, and always find time for your hobbies! Treasure your well-being and set strict boundaries, even if at first you are uncomfortable. This will lead you to perform better at your job too!
Another major, unexpected obstacle was when my internship supervisor resigned from the company one month into my internship. Obviously, it can happen. Nobody, not even his manager anticipated his sudden change of heart. I felt a little lost and confused with this sudden turn of events. This led to a lot of discussions about who will take over the supervising and the workload left behind. In an instance such as this it is very important to maintain both perseverance and compromise. Ask for reassurance and transparency if you need it, and be able to say no when your plate is full. There is nothing wrong with that and you are entitled to!
To sum it all up, my experience as an intern at an international company was full of unforeseen twists and priceless lessons. I am very grateful for the experience, the skills that I gained and the connections that I made. All this will be useful in my personal and professional future. If you could take anything at all from this reading, let it be this – embrace your internship opportunities and challenges with an open mind. Try to shift your perspective and you will discover that even the unforeseen experiences may be very rewarding.