Why an internship experience is important

Participation in an internship program is relevant for someone completing their tertiary education. An internship is very important for the future and has three distinct parties who are interested in it.

The first party is the person or the organisation who employs you for the internship as a means to create a strategic talent pipeline and identify potential prospective candidates for entry-level positions. Once the employer has seen and understood your potential, they grow the confidence to engage the intern in a more permanent long-term position.

The second party is someone to whom you might apply to following your internship. The fact that you have completed your internship will give the employer the assurance that you have the ability and knowledge to have completed your internship in a talent driven, high quality organisation  in the first place.

The third and the most important party is the intern himself/herself. An internship program is not just a way for the employers to evaluate their interns but also a crucial opportunity for the interns to evaluate the organisation, the people, the industry and the career path.

There is a more practical reason to pursue internship depending on the field. Most of the employers in the most competitive fields, such as finance, tech, law, etc. hire entry-level, full-time candidates exclusively through their internship programs. The odds of securing an attractive opportunity are very slim if someone shows up at the final year of college of university, without a meaningful and relevant internship experience or something comparable. The workplace is very competitive and it is very important to weigh the pros and cons of every opportunity and grab the ones that appear lucrative for paving the way for a fruitful career.

Nabila Hossain is a senior at Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka. Reach her at  nabilaanima@gmail.com.