Internships for all?

Since AICTE has mandated internships for major professional courses like Engineering, students are looking for internship opportunities.

While 30-40% of the students find real-time internship opportunities and about 55% of them get selected for full-time roles within the same companies.

First, let us understand the definition of an internship and learn the nuances.

The origins of internships can be traced back to medieval Europe when apprenticeships were common. Craftsmen and skilled tradespeople would take on young individuals as apprentices to learn a specific trade or craft through hands-on training and mentorship.

An internship is a temporary work opportunity organizations provide to individuals, often students or recent graduates, to gain practical experience in a specific field or industry.

Internships typically have a predetermined duration(between 2 to 6 months) and are designed to provide hands-on training and exposure to the real-world aspects of a particular profession. Interns work under the guidance of senior professionals or team leaders and may be assigned various tasks, projects, or responsibilities related to their field of study or career interests.

Internships can be paid or unpaid and offer valuable learning experiences, skill development, networking opportunities, and potential pathways to full-time employment.

PS: If companies(read training agencies) are collecting money from candidates for offering internship opportunities, you may note that it is not a real internship but some form of training.

My sincere advice to the students' community is that if you are looking for real-time exposure to domains & technologies that you are aspiring to secure a job in, go for real internships if they are unpaid.

The crux of today's post is are internship opportunities limited to students?

My answer is NO.

IMHO, internships are not just for freshers/students but for everyone who is looking for a job in a new domain and can opt for an internship either internally(applicable to experienced professionals) or externally(applicable to both students and experienced professionals).

What are internal internships?

About 9 years ago, I was offered an internal internship(though it was not exactly termed like that), but in hindsight, if I recall the way things worked out and how I transitioned to my dream role, I can say that it was an internal internship.

My boss referred me to a CXO from a different Business Unit who was in need of a resource to manage the PMO operations. At that time, I was not aware of what a PMO does. But that short-term assignment gave me an opportunity to work closely with PMOs from other departments and also senior leaders across the organization. I received on-the-job training and within 3-4 months I evolved as a P&L PMO leader. And the next step is obvious, CXO with whom I worked has absorbed me into her organization and I landed my dream job internally.

I often suggest to my mentees(and industry professionals) who want to shift to a different domain or technology to explore an internal internship first.

The concept is very simple if you are looking for an opportunity in the data science domain but don't have hands-on experience, then you may enroll in an online training program, learn the data science basics and then reach out to the leader/manager of Data Science COE within your company and express your interest to work as an intern(extended/stretch role) beyond your day job and start supporting them(After getting consent from your manager).

You need to make sure that you are realistic about the time commitment and make sure you deliver as per the expectations. Remember the mantra is underpromise but over-deliver.

Also, this should not impact your performance in the day job(actual job).

This kind of opportunity will offer you real-time exposure to the role that you are aspiring to get into. After testing the waters, you may choose to continue in your current role or switch to the new team (if there is any opening).

This will be a win-win situation for everyone involved in the process. Starting with you, your manager, the new manager, the new team, and the organization too.

If you don't find internal internships, then you may search for external internships(preferably unpaid and which do not clash with your office timings). Startups are pretty much open to offering stretch assignments to seasoned professionals.

After working for a few weeks, depending on mutual consent either you may choose to part ways or get absorbed by the new organization.

If you are a seasoned people manager, I am curious to learn from you how you provided internal internships to your team members who wanted to switch their jobs.

If you are an experienced professional - let me know whether you tried internal/external opportunities - what worked well, what didn't work etc.

If you are a fresher/student - share with me how you landed your internship opportunities. If you haven't found one but looking out - DM me for inputs :)

Thanks for reading.

PPS: If you've liked this blog, you will definitely like my podcast. Do check it out.

https://open.spotify.com/show/1GvX6tvmfelawEba0F6KS4