Majority of the students first experience internships in Singapore during the final year of their Polytechnic education. Some even get the opportunity to travel and serve theirs overseas! I, on the other hand, took a pretty different route. It was only after I got my diploma did I apply for a Singapore internship. I was pretty bumped that I was unsuccessful in applying for an internship Singapore opportunity which my Polytechnic encourages and had to settle for handling a final year project.
It's a known fact that interns are often given menial tasks (It's actually not an easy job photocopying mountains of paperwork!) to complete and are always under nitpicking superiors who never have a complement for you. Nonetheless, you'll learn skills (be it relevant to your speciality or not) that will benefit you in the future. It's not a waste of time! It's always good to have industrial knowledge and experience to enrich your portfolio.
I've learnt quite a number of humbling life skills from my time as an intern and because I am in need of some serious karma points, I'll share my thoughts on them with you.
1. First impressions stick!
Probably one of the most important lessons you'll ever learn in life and perhaps the the most useful. First impressions are crucial! While you can't possibly stop others from making judgments about you, you can make those decisions work in your favour. Non-verbal cues are way more impactful in making an impression than verbal ones. That's another guide altogether so go research on it! (Or maybe wait till I write one about it? Haha!)
2. (Act like) You don't know anything.
You may have straight As under your belt and boast a rock solid GPA but you are after all just 20(ish). On the grand scale of life, you're only just at the beginning. On the grand scale of your career path, you're only an intern who is scraping for knowledge at the bottom of the food chain. So, learn every little thing you possibly can! That includes knowing where to find those Milo sachets in the pantry and fixing the damned malfunctioning printing machine! Much like any story, the interesting parts only reveal themselves towards the end so do not act like a know-it-all cause well, you don't. That will just stun your growth and make the whole internship experience obsolete.
3. It's right to be wrong. (Don't overdo it!)
Sometimes you work on an assignment and it flips on you. Pick yourself back up and dust yourself off. Some (Most, if we're being honest…) lessons can only be learnt by falling face-flat on the cold hard ground and getting stomped by a Tyrannosaurus.
4. Listen!
Everyone wants to be acknowledged as a person, to have their thoughts and opinions voiced and listened to. It's up to ourselves to provide constructive inputs (The world already have too much negativity!), and the best way to do so is to first listen and learn. You can only experience so much in a lifetime, but other people's experiences can help you fill the gaps, and theirs, you. That is communication.
5. Everything is of value! (Eventually…)
It's only after you leave your internship and start your career journey when you realise that all the frivolous details and knowledge will come in handy one way or another. You just might get extra brownie points from your superiors for being able to change the toner cartridges of the fax machines efficiently.
If you have yet to experience serving an internship in Singapore, or wish to build up your portfolio further with more, you can head over to www.stroff.com to view all their latest listings.
