How important is an internship on your CV?
Putting classroom knowledge into practice: an internship is an important stage in professional development.
A degree is not always enough to become an excellent professional in your chosen field. In many cases that theoretical knowledge needs practice, and there is nothing better than an internship to complement academic learning. But how important is an internship really?
First, it is important to understand that an internship is almost always a student's first contact with professional practice in their chosen field. It is one of the best ways to test everything learned in the classroom, as well as excellent preparation for the job market. That first contact is decisive in forming a perception of the field you have chosen, and it starts building the experience the market always demands.
Although we see the internship as an important part of academic life, alongside seminars, extracurricular activities, talks and other tasks, this is where the opportunity to put what you learned into practice becomes real. Exchanging experience with people already working in the field, networking, professional contacts — the whole package needed to build a career starts with an internship. Having that practical experience is an enormous advantage when looking for a first job, or when being kept on in the role.
An internship can set you apart during a selection process.
And speaking of extracurricular activities, they are what set you apart when it comes to landing the internship you want: taking part in most of them considerably improves your chances of standing out among other candidates during selection. Even without actual professional experience, everything you have been through can be taken into account by recruiters.
Anyone who thinks only the student benefits from an internship is mistaken. Many companies find in these young people employees willing to learn, full of ideas and eager to put them into practice. And it is that desire to keep learning and contributing that can frequently outweigh previous experience, giving the company a valuable employee who can still be shaped and become more important still.
Beyond the professional importance
Beyond the professional and academic side, an internship also matters a great deal to personal development.
The importance of an internship in academic life is more than well known. Without it you cannot graduate, in the case of the compulsory internships some courses require.
Professionally, it is where you learn more about the function you will perform at work, gain experience and, most importantly, learn. It is the chance to live through situations the classroom did not show you, learning to handle the difficulties that are common in working life.
But one of the most important features of an internship is almost never mentioned: personal growth. Learning to listen, learning in practice, making mistakes, learning to be held to account, understanding how processes and relationships with people who think completely differently actually work. An internship is one of the best tools for learning and growth, academic, professional and personal.
One thing is certain: anyone who has done an internship ends up with a more flexible career, with knowledge across several fields, and learns earlier how to deal with all the difficulties professional life brings. And that is how the most qualified professionals begin: learning everything they can during an internship.
Want to know more about recruitment and selection, market news and other subjects in the field? Keep an eye on the Hprojekt Group blog — there is always quality content prepared especially for you.