How Internships Shape Future Managers

Mistakes have often been associated with negative connotations, but what if they can become stepping stones to innovation and growth? The fear of making mistakes often holds individuals back, putting them into rules and predetermined paths. However, if one is given an environment that encourages exploration and learning through trial and error, it creates new perspectives, innovations, and ideas. This is where internships come in—one's space to expand their limit, experiment, and learn without the fear of being wrong.

Internships expose students to several domains, but they offer much more: the chance to transform ideas into big accomplishments. Young professionals today are full of enthusiasm, but they do not have real-world experience in industry operations. The saying "Nobody is born an expert; everyone learns and develops" really applies here.

Now days, in the dynamic corporate world, young professionals are filled with enthusiasm but lack the exposure to the industry that enables them to channelise their energies into the correct direction.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reports that 91% of employers prefer candidates who have internship experience, which implies how much importance it holds. Internships bridge theoretical knowledge and real-world applications, preparing freshers for the challenges in the corporate sector with confidence and required skillsets.

A Platform for Real-World Learning

Internships?are?a?crucial?source?of?shaping future managers?to?build?skills that?go?beyond?industrial?norms. They?offer?opportunities to:

• Understand?how?industries?are?structured?and?hierarchically set.
• Develop?soft skills?such?as?communication, leadership, and adaptability.
• Acquire?hard skills tailored to specific domains.
• Understand?organizational workflows and management?practice.

Startups, in particular, offer a unique advantage. They present an open platform where interns learn?how?to maximize efficiency with?few?resources,?encouraging?creativity and resourcefulness. Such?an?environment?helps build?problem-solving skills and?prepares?interns?for?managerial roles in dynamic and resource-constrained situations.

My Internship Journey: A Personal Perspective

While I was interning at Skillarena , I discovered not just my capabilities but also the areas where I could improve and develop. It gave me clarity?about?my strengths, the field which interests me I wanted to pursue, and how I could uniquely contribute to my team and organisation. My mentors Shrey Tyagi Jhalak Gupta Deepanshu Chittoria ,?played a pivotal role in this journey. They helped me realize my potential as a manager and leader, teaching me:

• The importance of determination and resilience.
• How to deal with failures and turn setbacks into opportunities.
• How to optimize existing systems to meet market needs.
• The value of working efficiently within constraints to deliver impactful results.

One profound lesson I learned was that the corporate world needs fresh perspectives as much as individuals need corporate experience. Internships?serve?as the stepping stone for freshers to?enter?the?corporate-ready?manager category.

Specialized Learning in Retail Management

Being a student of PGDM in Retail Management at Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH) , I firmly believe that internships may act as an eye opener to the intricacies of the industry. Retail is a broad term encompassing not only FMCG, FMCD, Apparel, but also Luxury, Food and Beverage, Footwear, and many more. Every segment demands an understanding of consumer behaviour, market trends, and operational intricacies which varies from industry to industry as well as what you have to offer.

Hands-on projects with internships enable freshers like me to experience the dynamics of retail, such as:

• Navigating consumer unpredictability.
• Understanding personalization in products and services.
• Exploring various verticals to identify the correct career path.

These experiences not only refine one's expertise in a specific domain but also lay the foundation for becoming a versatile manager who thrives in challenging environments.

The Numbers Speak

• Interns are 70% more likely to be hired by the company as a full-time employee.
• Students with internship experience report a 26% higher starting salary than those without.

Takeaways

Internships are the bedrock of transformation. They prepare aspiring managers with the confidence and skills necessary to be successful in their future careers. Be it nurturing their leadership abilities, domain-specific expertise or learning from their failures, internships transform candidates into future professionals.

And if you are just starting your path to your career, view your internships as a time to learn, experiment and develop the skills that the corporate ecosystem needs now and is changing constantly. Every experience—big or small—will help you grow into the competent manager that the world needs you to be.

A Note of Gratitude

Besides all the learnings and takeaways, I sincerely thank my mentors for their support, guidance, and most importantly for believing in me— Skillarena Shrey Tyagi Jhalak Gupta Deepanshu Chittoria Not only did they teach me the technical and managerial tools I needed, but they taught me that self-motivation and resiliency was crucial. Their support during difficult times as well as their ability to encourage me to reach for more than safety nets has shifted my perspective entirely.

My mentors who have given me a better understanding of the industry and prepared me for the corporate world, Thank you very much. Dr. Shilpee Aggarwal Neha Lohia Dr.Garima Malik Jyoti Das Dr Navin Shrivastava Saikrushna Bharati Jitender Kummar (PhD) Ajab Singh Dr. Sanam Sharma Sonali Mazumdar Stuti Gupta

Their lessons remind me every day that self-motivation is the key to unlocking one's potential, and that it is these individuals whom the corporate world treasures: people who can learn, adapt, and innovate. I am very grateful for the role they played in my journey and for carrying their teachings as I continue to grow. Their combined mentorship has instilled confidence within me to face challenges and motivated me to strive towards growing into a future business manager.

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