Let me be blunt, I learned far more useful skills and tools during my internships, then I ever did at University. Working at an actual company teaches you how to communicate, what’s expected of you, what a realistic timelines and finally had to execute on a deliverable. There is something to be said about being in the actual thick of it rather than learning about it in the theoretical classroom. I would advise you to start lining up your internships as soon as you can. These opportunities fill up quickly for those who see their value and their worthwhileness cannot be overstated. In addition to learning how to work at an actual office, internships will pad your meager resume when it’s finally time to leave college and move into the working world. You will bring with you, not only the theoretical knowledge that you received while in college but also practical knowledge of how to work well in an office. To put it plainly, you won’t have to be babied so much.
Stacking the deck
Our goal here is to be so good that a company would be silly to refuse you a job. So what’s a good example of Jim and Joe. Jim has worked hard through all five years of college. His grades are excellent, he is well liked. Our goal here is to be so good that a company would be silly to refuse you a job. So what’s a good example of Jim and Joe. Jim has worked hard through all five years of college. His grades are excellent, he is well liked And his recruiters think he’s going to land a great job. He goes out to the working world and can’t seem to line anything up. All the companies are asking for at least some experience even for entry-level positions. Jim realizes that he doesn’t have any actual experience of working in an actual workspace. All his knowledge is theoretical and he doesn’t have anything to offer to bring to the company. Joe on the other hand has been doing internships every summer while he’s in college. He’s worked for Apple, Google and even one start up. When he finishes school with mediocre grades and attempt to get a job people will see on his resume that he’s already worked for three companies, he’s bringing along what amounts to a year of experience and best practices and knowledge from some of the top companies in the world. This is what it looks like to stack the deck for your first job out of school. Keep this in mind for not only internships but anything you can do outside of your regular school day. This includes things like side jobs, side hustles, I am hackathons, anything else that gives you knowledge of other people won’t have. Anything that shows you’re willing to do what it takes to be better than the next guy.
Hitting the ground running
Another thing that speaks highly to recruiters and especially hiring managers is finding candidates that already have experience inside of an office. Managers do not relish the time and commitment it takes to teach someone how an office works and hold her hand through every aspect of corporate life. Is a huge time waste for them and you could turn out to be a real dud. This is why it’s so important to have corporate experience before you leave college. Being able to hit the ground running and show your value within a few months of getting to the workplace, setting up for success in the eyes of your peers and your superiors.They will know you as someone who can get stuff done, who knows how the corporate layout works, and may even be ready for larger opportunities with more exposure.
Bringing knowledge
Well the above points are valid and important, the most valuable thing you can bring to another company is experience. When you work for a company, you learn what they consider their best practices, what are their values, how do they think about products, what will make this company successful. When you go to another company after this one, you bring along those insights to the new company. These are things that those people may have not even considered. Those insights will be extremely valuable to the new company. A fresh perspective cannot be understated, especially one that has the backings of experience behind it. There have been countless times where I have seen somebody bring best practices over to a new company, to revolutionize how they thought about building a product, how they thought about running a team, how they thought about efficient meetings and updates. This once again makes you valuable in the eyes of your superior and gives you much more credit going forward to be seen as a effective and valuable contributor.This will turn out to be very important when it comes to comp This will turn out to be very important when it comes to comp time discussions.
