Plato says the learning and knowledge that we have is, at the most, but little compared to what of which we are ignorant.
Five-days a week _ lucky enough three-four days _ waking up _sometimes not very early morning _ heading to college, skipping breakfast for I have a mob to feast with, I live cosy college life.
Class attendance, hmmm…mandatory; exam stress, customary.
How about fun? Oh yeah lots and lots of fun. There is no harm whooping it up because serious things are made for serious time and age?
How do you define serious time and age? Hmmm~ I do well in tests and my grades speak volumes. I am confident a dream career is awaiting me so no point in sweating out. High CGPA will endow top brand office car, lavish trips and handsome pay. What else do I need???
The reality is, you will live a dream career ‘only’ by the sweat of your brow during college life. You find a dream career, perhaps not you will last an ideal dreamer. Time proves itself!
Work hard now and it will surely pay off by turning your career a dreamy one or else embrace the dark sides of professional life: competition, anxiety, and stress, all non-stop and in the worst scenario, in a complete package.
This is not personal but based on statistics and reality many graduates find themselves unprepared for. As students we tend to take things for granted thinking the journey is smooth and serene. Little do we know, the reality can be excruciating and the journey uneven.
“Around 30 – 40 percent of graduates are not employable for the first six months after graduation,” Malaysian Employers Federation. (The Star, August 2015). Surprisingly, communication skills and emotional awareness are the two biggest leadership gaps in Malaysia, the root of which can be traced to college life (Asian Leadership Index, 2014)
Similarly, only 25 percent of employers agree college curriculum equips students with innovation and creativity; 24 percent believe students are able to apply knowledge in real life while 18 percent agree students can work with people from different backgrounds (Washington Post, January 2015). According to USA Today (May 2015), around 40 percent employers outline that graduates are deficient in problem solving and leadership skills, while 42 think they lack inter-personal and oral-communication skills.
One way to equip and refine a wide range of soft-skills viz: teamwork, problem-solving, creativity, leadership and communication, is industry exposure through internship experience before jump start to professional career. Not every college environment offers ‘real’ opportunities to practice these skills, but an internship does. Even if the college does offer, the scale of exposure is marginal. According to Robert Farrington, 43 percent of college experts agree that an internship is the ‘best’ way to master these skills before students graduate.
Doing a mere internship does not suffice it. Take it as an opportunity to gain industry insight. Find your
passion and understand what feasible measures you require to refine your skills and define your personality. This shall help you stay at top of the game while your friends go happy-go-lucky at college.
passion and understand what feasible measures you require to refine your skills and define your personality. This shall help you stay at top of the game while your friends go happy-go-lucky at college.
Not many find internship attractive and worth the time and effort, so hats off for taking the step. To help you enjoy while continue learning in internship, I present to you some useful tips based on my personal experience as an intern.
1. Understand the Culture
Thinking you’ll have a desk with a PC and absolute freedom from 9 – 6? Knock-knock! Hold your marks for a long round parade. Like it or not, dealing with employees from operations to other departments and clients make biggest proportion of daily tasks. To manage the orientation, understand the values and ethics which have laid the foundation and relationship patterns of the organization internally and on the exterior. Understand the power distance if the organization has flat management or is based on hierarchy; risks are welcomed or avoided; communication mode is down-ward or horizontal and if you
are treated as in-group or out-sider. Take it from me, even the smartest and most genius guy will suffer neglecting the fact. Only if you champion culture patterns, your understanding of tasks will shape itself.
are treated as in-group or out-sider. Take it from me, even the smartest and most genius guy will suffer neglecting the fact. Only if you champion culture patterns, your understanding of tasks will shape itself.
2. Discover the Compatibility
Our lives are determined by choices we make. These choices are usually influences by how others think of us or how we think others want us to be. In lieu of staying in your comfort zone and comparing why others do better, find what you can do better as an individual within a group. The larger diversity group embraces, the better and more positive comparisons you will discover. Make sure you stay loyal to your values which have shaped your individuality. But be honest what you need to change, adopt and improve. You may prefer silo working conditions, but your job demands the otherwise. Practice working in team and/or ask for group projects. This way you will cherish compatibility.
3. Compete with Yourself
To fancy a business environment with zero-level competitiveness, is daydreaming in simple terms. Competition can be constructive but at times changes the mood of employees, slows down the efficiency and productivity level drops. Make sure you are not part of it. In lieu of engraining negativity in the first corporate experience, discover your passion and conquer it. Fight the shortcomings which prevent from dream career you aspire. Compete with yourself because everyone is fighting their own battle.
4. Polish the Diamond in You
As an intern, you will have tasks coming onto your plate from your direct supervisor, your supervisor’s supervisor and senior colleagues. Take it not as unjust to you. But remember why you took the challenge in first stance. Embrace the challenge_ logically it is hard but worth it _ to master your time management, stress control and task-priority skills. You cannot understand the pressure of winds, if you do not sail against them. You are a diamond in the rough and require true guidance and the guidance can come from within, so polish the diamond in you.
5. Do not only Ask, Give
The fact that you have less or zero experience does not undermine the fact you are distinctively unique individual with talents unexploited yet. You are new to corporate world but not your talents are new to you. Translate your talent by delivering, helping other employees, even if you think it not necessary. This can be your interpretation not theirs. Challenge yourself by giving help not only asking for it. The benefits are robust and the impact tremendous. After you leave, people will remember what you delivered when not demanded from you but not how efficiently you did what you were supposed to.
Practically, the experience will have patches making you crumble and fall down your knees. But the results grandeur with life-long benefits. Make the best use of holidays by doing an internship to live your story for real before you begin the corporate life journey. Your internship will endow top brand office car, lavish trips and handsome pay, mark my words.
Best wishes from an experienced intern,
Jawad Jahid
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| The team I worked with – small but great ambitions! |
References:
The Star 2015, ‘Lack of soft skills among
issues we hope to address and change, says MEF’ http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/08/10/New-system-for-better-grads-Lack-of-soft-skills-among-issues-we-hope-to-address-and-change-says-MEF/,, accessed on 15 October 2015
issues we hope to address and change, says MEF’ http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/08/10/New-system-for-better-grads-Lack-of-soft-skills-among-issues-we-hope-to-address-and-change-says-MEF/,, accessed on 15 October 2015
Jeffrey J. Selingo, ‘Why are so many college students failing to gain job skills before graduation?’
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/01/26/why-are-so-many-college-students-failing-to-gain-job-skills-before-graduation/, accessed on 15 October 2015
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/01/26/why-are-so-many-college-students-failing-to-gain-job-skills-before-graduation/, accessed on 15 October 2015
Megan Elliott, USA Today 2015, ‘5 skills college grads need to get a job’, http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2015/05/03/cheat-sheet-skills-college-grads-job/26574631/ accessed on October 20, 2015
Robert Farrington, Forbes/ Education 2015, ‘The Two Key Traits Employers Need From Today’s College Graduates’ http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertfarrington/2014/05/28/the-two-key-traits-employers-need-from-todays-college-graduates/
accessed on 20 October 2015
omg, i love the article. coming from someone who has done internships before, i completely agree that it does change yourself to be better at understanding the importance of communication and emotional awareness, and also how to go about them. Thanks for the amazing read Jawad
I appreciate your positive comment. I am sure you have a lot to share to help those embarking their journey. Do share in any form!
I think you have touched on almost all of the necessasities. One more dont show up late for work!