Tell me what you expect of me and I’ll do my best to meet those expectations.
I was raised in a family with an Asian upbringing where respecting your elders and being irreproachable in the workplace are the main learnings and takeaways we are given before getting into our first jobs; however, with hindsight, it might not be the best advice. I applied at Cémoi, the leading manufacturer of chocolates and chocolate confectionery in France, in June and I remember during the interview being so eager to start the internship and prove myself capable. After the first two months, the amount of work gradually and exponentially augmented to the point where at the end of the six months I had accumulated around forty hours of extra work. Doing overtime work was not an issue for me, however, it was one for the human resources. After 25h, they notify it to your manager and “push the red alarm”. Having a certain amount of work and doing overtime was not an issue because I knew the internship lasted six months. However, regardless of the duration of the job, you should not be exploited. Indeed, as an intern, the salary, if there is one, is usually far from meeting the amount of work you are putting every day. So, yes, you are there to learn and salary should not your main goal during this internship however what stood up to me was I felt diminished. Overtime work, lot of stress, however, I still had the status of an intern, hence no one respected my opinion nor asked to hear about it. Nonetheless, I cannot say I blame my company nor my manager for this, it was my responsibility and my duty to set rules and show to what extent I was willing to get involved. I think that during an internship it is really important to know your place as an intern while taking responsibilities and initiatives.
What does being an intern mean for your manager and employer ?
Many things are to consider when applying for the internship and if I had one tip to give to my fellow students would be to assess whether the company you are applying in have a real interest in investing in you as a person or is just looking for cheap workforce. Many companies hire interns in order to do their dirty work. With this kind of company, you are most likely to be assigned to boring and redounding tasks. On the other hand, in companies were your employers seems to really value you they will invest in you and you’ll just have to figure out, for yourself your limits and your potential.
Nonetheless, I would say my biggest tip is to be open about what you expected, what you are willing to do, what is not acceptable for you and do not be afraid to ask question because, remember, regardless of the amount of responsibilities given to you during your internship, you are still an intern.
On this note, enjoy your internship to the fullest !
Zoé Nguyen
