Four reasons why you should do an internship
9 March 2022
Internships provide an excellent opportunity to be exposed to professional environments that correlate with your academic studies. Building your professional aptitude, soft-skills and understanding of the corporate world, is seldom achieved through the sole completion of a degree.
The opportunity to test your knowledge and blend skills learnt at university with practical work experience, is invaluable to your growth as an aspiring professional.
While it is not mandatory to complete an internship for some higher-education courses, research suggests that completing a form of work experience will increase your employability after graduation.
Internships provide outcomes
According to a study completed by the CSIRO, graduates who undertook a mandatory work component while obtaining their degrees, had significantly better employment outcomes. Completing an internship is valuable for more reasons than increased employment opportunities. Such as:
1. Build confidence
Building confidence early on in your career can be challenging. It is something you work on throughout your entire career. Completing an internship is one way to develop your skills and increase assurance in yourself before graduation. Internships provide an opportunity to:
- implement university teachings
- gauge your readiness for a job
- better understand what to expect in your field.
Therefore, assisting you with your confidence when applying for positions post-graduation.
2. Discover interests
Through exposure to a variety of activities, you can discover areas of interest and learn more about what may suit your skills and career goals. The work undertaken during an internship, will increase your knowledge about different sectors and industries and provide insight into roles you may want to apply for upon graduation.
3. Gain connections
The opportunity to be involved with an organisation’s team, is one of the most beneficial aspects of an internship. It allows you to:
- build your professional network
- work with industry professionals
- offers the potential to develop mentoring relationships
- connections that are not only good for your personal growth, but also your career growth.
4. Industry insight
Internships allow a brief deep dive into an industry that compliments your studies. Through the practical experience you can gain an understanding of:
- how the industry works
- what the role requires
- learn about the expectation of employers and organisations.
Furthermore, you will be privy to industry workplace cultures, employee relations and leadership.
Consider an internship with Phillips Group
At Phillips Group, we partner with students to bring their interests, skills and curiosities to life through a tailored work experience program.
We focus on mentoring, fostering industry connections and introducing students to the people, the work and the necessary skills to be successful in the communications industry.
Apply now!
If you are a high-performing student that wants to learn from the best – we want to hear from you. Visit our Internship Program page to find out more.