Interning. It’s a loved word; it’s a hated word. For many, interning is the inevitable next step towards your dream career. You spend years at uni learning the skills, getting the certificate, but when it comes to getting a job in the real world it’s all about the practical experience these days. The workforce is one hell of a competitive place (especially in Australia), so anything that will give you that edge is super beneficial.
Just think though, imagine you score an internship at your dream company, and you turn it into a job. Well, we spoke to Nick Kavo, who scored himself “the ultimate intern experience” at Boost Mobile. And even better, he turned that internship into a paid part-time job. So let’s take some advice from the guy that’s really done it right.
#1 Landing The Internship
“Initially it is quite hard, you have to be on the lookout across all types of job posting websites, social media, university newsletters and the likes. I was lucky enough to the Boost Mobile internship on Instagram.” Nick tells us that it’s all about exhausting your avenues, finding that internship can be challenging, but you will eventually come across the perfect one. From there you have to set yourself apart, “Do something unique that will make your potential employer remember you when going through scores of resume’s.” And remember, before heading to any interviews do some background research on the company, the industry and prepare some questions for your employer as well.
#2 Going Above And Beyond
“As an intern I tried to go above and beyond with everything I did. Whatever the task I always gave it 110% and was always up for anything.” Take your internship as an opportunity to grasp your career with two hands and work as hard as you want. Nick wanted to pursue social media marketing, so he went for it and developed content plans that would get the views. He took risks, even asking his manager to take two of his mates on an adventure trip from Adelaide to Darwin.
“At first he was hesitant, but I backed myself with research, a thorough plan and provided him with exactly what Boost Mobile would get out of it.”
Basically, work at your skills to a point that will make you a valuable asset to the company you are interning at. “I think it was a mixture of understanding the brand, my persistent work and planning, researching and working as hard as I could that saw me go above and beyond as an intern.”
#3 Balancing Work And Uni
For many, interning is something you take on while your still studying, not to mention working part time so you can, you know, support yourself. Nick says that in order to balance his time he had to cut out a part of his life that he held dearly, TV. “I missed the Game of Thrones obsession, but in the end, it was worth it.” Sometimes in order to get where you want to be, you have to make sacrifices, but remember it’s not forever. The sacrifices you make in order to juggle interning, work and uni, will inevitably pay off.
# 4 Make Yourself Credible For A Paid Position
Embedding yourself in the corporate culture and proving your worth by working hard and being up for anything is what enabled Nick to turn his internship into a paid role.
“Creating relationships with the other staff also helped as they genuinely liked having me around!”
So remember to network, having the right contacts at your internship can also mean that those staff members will recognise your face, your work and really want you on board.
#5 From Intern To Permanent Paid Worker
“The first step would be to ask. A lot of my friends have been too scared to even ask for any sort of compensation for the work they are doing.” Don’t ever undervalue your hard work, remember you’re worth every cent. Nick goes on to tell us that by outlining your value to the business, you can show your superiors that you are doing good work and perhaps you deserve a little more compensation. “Some businesses might not be in a financial position to pay you, but if you ask at least you know and can move on if you feel you have gotten everything you want out of your intern role.” And don’t be scared to move on either. Once you have sufficient experience, know that you are capable of paid role.
Image Sources: Boost Mobile, We Work, Time Higher Education.