Intern Intel
Part of my job is to — ahem — supervise bright-eyed interns who come through
GURU’s door for an experience they won’t be able to buy somewhere else. To benefit any aspiring interns out there, I would like to share a few points based on real-life experiences to help make internship a valuable experience for you.
Pre-game: No, I’m not suggesting a few TQ shots before coming to the office. I mean you should study the organisation that you want to intern at. Dropping tidbits about the organisation in your letter can help you in the long run. Apply for an internship at a company that you may be interested in actually working for or at least a company in the industry that you’re really interested in. The worst case is finding out that the industry you want to work in may not be for you. You want a real work experience, after all.
You’re here to learn: This means you’ll make a few mistakes along the way. Therefore, when someone gives you critique or corrects you, don’t pout like a kid missing his/her toy. Not cute. Let it fuel your fire to be better.
Ask questions: If you don’t clearly understand something, ask your supervisor to elaborate. A good supervisor won’t bite or belittle you for doing so. Respect people’s time: While your ajarn may be kind enough to extend a deadline or just deduct points for late submission, when you fail to meet a deadline in the real workplace it can cause a ripple effect and slowdown others. Every office has its own workflow and you should respect that.
Take it seriously: Don’t slack off, use Facebook and surf YouTube while on the job. Complete your assignments in a timely manner. When you run out of things to do, ask for more. This is an opportunity to see how much can you take on. And no, you can’t ask for two days to complete a 500-word article. Don’t do anything you wouldn’t if you were actually hired: Bad examples include bringing your boyfriend to an out-of-office assignment so he can take photos and videos for you and “taking home” a cosmetic set meant for a giveaway competition. Not cool.
It can help or hurt your future: You never know when your future employer will ask your former supervisor for a reference before taking you on. I’ve given a glowing recommendation to one of our star interns before. If the internship doesn’t go down well, I, for one, won’t lie.
I hope all of these points can be beneficial to someone out there but, if they sound interesting to you, send me an email to apply for an illustrious internship at GURU. Your first task is to find my email address. You won’t get paid but there are an endless supply of free treats, access to cool events (if you show potential), writing tips, praise from me in form of LINE stickers when you’ve done a great job and, who knows, you may leave with a mastery in puns and alliteration.
P.S. Sorry for the not-so-subtle ad for an intern disguised as an editor’s note. Not.