Learning Category: Articles

Internship Grail: Things to keep in mind before you get started

In today’s article, we have captured some of the most crucial to-dos when applying for an internship. We hope these points help you understand the essence of internships and build better experiences for yourself.

With India making a paradigm shift towards competency-based learnings, internship opportunities are set to grow. Since there is going to be a wide pool of opportunities to choose from, you need to have a clear vision about where your interests lie and what your purpose is. We strongly believe that on-the-job learning takes you much further in your journey rather than brand names. So apply wisely and read about the scope and learnings of the role rather than just the company.

Apart from your resume, a cover letter that goes deeper into the application questions is a crucial part of your first impression on the hiring manager. Most of the applications are rejected at this stage. Period. You might bring a plethora of skills and experience under your belt and quoting all of it still may not land you that internship. The catch here is to do in-depth research on the overall work of the organization, the requirements of the role and then doing an analysis of how that aligns with your past experiences and future goals. When done diligently, this ensures your application to be relevant and in line with the ask of the internship. Spelling mistakes and wrong English since you were writing in a big hurry are an absolute No-No.

It is necessary to not only sound confident but feel confident during the interview process, which follows only once you have done the homework right. While it is suggested to keep answers to standard questions ready, it is equally important to keep an open mind and listen very carefully to the interviewer. Once you understand the rationale behind what is being asked, you can keep your answers crisp and relevant. Keeping an open mind will also help you have a conversation rather than a robotic dialogue. Listen before you answer.

Once you have landed your desired internship, it’s showtime. It does not mean going over the roof and draining yourself, but to take the reins of your learning curve into your own hands. One can choose to just deliver what’s being asked or along with that, also stay curious, ask questions and seek time-to-time feedback.

Interns by virtue are taken to infuse fresh blood in organisations, given the scope to err is certainly more than full-time employees, this is your chance to be proactive and contribute in any way possible. Interns who have an open mind and are passionate about their job have a greater shot at making it full-time than those who are only looking at a 2-month stint for the sake of resumes.

Tips for Freshers in their Job Hunt

Millions of freshers enter the competitive job market every year and hustle for landing a job in their dream organization. However, given the level of competition and the continuous evolution of the market, simply having a stellar academic record or the best pedigree isn’t enough and sometimes you may not have that.

So to gain an edge, you need to have a great story to tell about yourself. Great pedigree but poor quality CV doesn’t cut it similarly average pedigree and nothing stellar in a profile won’t cut it either.

So what can a fresher do to best present his/her candidature:

Identify your strengths and weaknesses first

We all think we know ourselves very well. We are often mistaken and it’s time to actually reflect on your strengths and weaknesses. Also focus on what motivates you—some people like repetitive tasks whereas for others “Variety is the Spice of Life”. The better you know yourself, the more likely you’ll find a job that provides you with greater satisfaction. If you don’t know your strengths and weakness talk to people/teachers/mentors/friends to understand this.

Create a Great Story about yourself

A story about yourself develops more interest and tells how you are unique and different from others. This story can include a great personal achievement, a problem you solved, a challenge or fear that you overcame, or weakness that you converted to a strength. This reveals a lot about you.

Create a short yet effective CV/Profile

Your resume makes the first impression. So a copy/paste job from a template doesn’t work. Think of the above 2 points and make an impactful CV. Again pay a lot of attention to small details. No one wants a poorly written CV with grammatical and typo mistakes. So no run of the mill CV.

Identify 10 roles you want to apply to with research

Oftentimes, out of desperation, candidates apply for every job that they see, regardless of whether they are way underqualified for the job.

Organizations reject those profiles and the applicant feels bad to see all the rejections. Avoid getting into this situation by spending time in researching about roles and organizations and then identifying roles that can work for you. Apply to less places but where you best fit the bill.

Research and then apply to the roles with a cover letter

A Cover letter should always be specific to the job you’re applying to. Often times cover letter loses meaning as it’s a copy/paste of the CV which isn’t even in any way reflective of the role you are applying for. You don’t need to lie all you need to highlight is anything you may have done that can be of interest to that role’s ask.

Communicate clearly and respond in a timely manner

When communication is effective, it leaves all parties involved satisfied and feeling accomplished. By delivering messages clearly, there is no room for misunderstanding or alteration of messages, which decreases the potential for you to be successful. A poorly crafted message will only end up with rejection or no response.

Things to keep in mind—attitude and learning abilities

“It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort.” – Jillian Michaels

It’s always important to listen before one answers and try to understand why someone is wanting to know that.The more you listen the better you will get be able to answer the question. Enthusiasm and energy is very important and at the same time is the attitude. Are you someone who thinks you don’t need to revise anything you have written or presented? Think again.

Complete assignments on time and with focus

Often times candidates think assignments serve no purpose and the employer is trying to get free work done during the interview. This may be applicable for a few select employers at senior levels but as a fresher there is very little that the employer gains by getting a fresher to do an assignment. So before you have those thoughts go through the assignment and understand whether it tests you or not and can it really add much value to the organization who may already have those answers.

Many a times candidates try to finish the assignment without much focus and when they get rejected they wished they were given more chances.“Do it right the first time”

Be reasonable and clear in your goals and ask

You don’t get what you wish for. You get what you work for.” – Daniel Milstein

Clarity is important when it comes to goals. Challenging goals stretch your mind and cause you to think bigger. This helps you accomplish more. However, by saying I want to be a Manager in a year when you still don’t even subject matter expertise of the role won’t be reasonable so again think through about your ask. Many a times, applicants have wrong notions of the money they can get as a fresher so do some research before asking.

Also understand roles within a domain people seem to be allergic towards sales roles and many want HR roles without realizing what all each of these comprise of.

Leave a pleasant impression

Always show your gratitude to your interviewer. Reiterate your interest in the position and indicate what draws you to the company (provided you have researched about it well). This is your last chance to leave a positive impression so don’t sound desperate or bring up your personal situation to gain sympathy of the interviewer or your desperation rather focus on why you feel you could be a good addition.