Pooja Mishra, an engineering student could not get a job through campus placements. Despite good academics, she was not able to clear the technical rounds of the interviews. A senior suggested her to apply for internships online. She had heard about ‘internship’ but did not know how it would help her get a job. Content Writing interested her, and she applied to internships in her field of interest. A Delhi-based startup selected her for a 6-months internship and the work turned out to be exciting for her. By the end of the internship, she had not only acquired the knowledge of SEO, creative writing, and social media marketing, but also had a pre-placement offer with a good package in her hand.
As a fresher, it is difficult for the graduates to have work experience and understand corporate ethics while the organisations seek candidates with experience. Every year 60 lakh students like Pooja graduate out of colleges in India but only 8-10% are employable and land a job. Lack of skills is the primary reason why millions of graduates are struggling to find a job. Unemployability and skill gap are two major issues which have grappled our country.
By 2020, India will have the youngest workforce with 64% of its citizens in the working age population. This opportunity holds massive potential for India in terms of significant economic growth; however, the absence of trained people has aggravated the problem of unemployment, leading to so many educated but unemployable youths in our country.
However, we believe that this problem can be tackled with the help of meaningful internships. Internships not only enable the students with profile-specific knowledge but equip them with the experience and soft skills they require to land their first job.
Nearly a decade ago, the majority of college students had to reach out to their relatives or do walk-ins to find an internship; however, over the years, India has seen a ‘silent revolution of internships’ happening across the country. A plethora of internships in diverse fields like video editing, game development, sports management, business development, content writing, and computer science are available online for the internet friendly millennials. Here is how graduates can benefit from an internship –
- PPO:
As per our data, 46% of the internships come with a pre-placement offer. A PPO is offered solely on the basis of an intern’s performance during the internship period. Also, securing a PPO would ensure that you do not have to worry about campus placement or finding jobs externally. Statistically, you have higher chances of converting your internship into a full-time job as to finding a job!
- Skill Building:
As a fresher, you might lack technical and soft skills which might hinder your interviews. An internship is the best way to learn practically. While you solve real problems, you would learn about the latest tools and technologies, hone your soft-skills by interacting with team members and clients and understand the corporate culture better.
- Define your career:
Freshers are often confused about their career choices and an internship helps you to explore your career options. It offers more flexibility than you can imagine. As internships are usually for a short duration, you can switch between different profiles to see where your heart lies.
Are you wondering if it might decrease your chances of getting a job due to switching the profiles? Well, at the end of it you would learn a lot while exploring and it is going to boost your resume.
- Networking:
Internships would provide you with opportunities to attend various meetings and events in not just your organisation but also in the industry. You will get to interact with professionals and establish contacts. These experiences will help you to understand what all opportunities there are to explore and what is currently happening in the industry. The network which you form in the industry would help you land a job or mentor you.
- Boosts resume:
All of us who have stepped into professional lives know the importance of a strong resume. It gives you an edge over your peers and employers are more likely to hire you when they see your previous experiences. Internships add value to your resume and help you take the leap towards your first job.
Do you ever remember doing something and being the best at it? It happened because you practised hard enough, you had enough knowledge and you weren’t scared of the outcome. That is exactly what an internship does – it hones your existing skills, teaches you new ones, and provides you hands-on experience and thus makes you career ready!
About the Author:Sarvesh Agrawal is the founder and CEO of Internshala, an internship and trainings platform (internshala.com)
