So I'm nearing the end of my first internship, and I thought I'd spend a bit of time thinking about where it's left me. How it's helped, how it's been a career boost and how it's been a massive pain in the backside.
I'm going to presume that you've read this far in anticipation of a bit of gossip and criticism, so to keep you in (relative) suspense I'll leave that to the end. Plus, presuming that many of you will get bored or distracted half way through, http://nyti.ms/3VyUvP I don't want you only to have absorbed the negative side of my experience.
So on the plus side, then, I have begun to be able to fill out that massive void in my CV, labelled experience. And I cannot deny that that has been the primary outcome. In spite of everything that has been even remotely irritating, my career has taken a boost. In fact, as a direct result of having something to whack on the CV, and something to talk about at interview, I've managed to land an even better summer placement. (Minimal salary, but an improvement, regardless).
And the reason I had something to talk about at interview? The fact that I actually know a lot more about the industry. Yes, I could probably have learnt most of it from books. But not only has this experience brought it to life a little more, but when you actually use the information on a daily basis, it sticks far more permanently in the memory and I believe that I understand it more than I would otherwise: things like industry jargon and best practices, and the theoretical and practical workings of a business.
And beyond the work itself, there were the people. I made a million and one talented and trusted contacts (...it was the social media industry after all...) whom I wouldn't be afraid to call upon in a year's time asking for advice. Plus I'm much better at the "work relationship." I've developed a talent for authoritative bull-shitting, to make people listen and do what I say! And it works! Far more than I would otherwise have appreciated. But there is more to a work relationship than making people listen. It's about collaboration and teamwork. But what I've learnt is that it does not necessarily have to be about friendship.
Some of the most effective teams that I have seen didn't spend too much time together outside of work, and didn't appear to get along. But you don't have to get on personally in order to work well together.
But enough of the niceities.
You don't have to get on personally in order to work well together. But sometimes it helps. Particularly, when the people whom you don't get on with are in charge. I found myself slightly looked down upon by senior employees and certainly undervalued. As I was sat working, my direct superior called out to another manager to "find me something straightforward to be getting on with." As though I couldn't manage anything beyond straightforward? What made it worse was that everyone was so busy that they could do with my help. They just didn't believe I was capable. The kinds of complex tasks from which I was shielded? Entering data into spreadsheets (in case I did it wrong), shredding (in case I broke the shredder) and copy and pasting onto our website.
And it gets worse. Not only I was I limited in the tasks which I was deemed capable of not messing up, but for each task which I was given, I was allowed far too much time. Whilst this may sound heavenly to some, for me it left my work ethic slightly quashed. At first, I finished quickly but soon found that I was a nuisance when I was forced to repeatedly ask for fresh tasks. Plus no real resonsibility left me with a feeling of not caring about or owning my work.
So what have I taken away from this placement? It's been useful, no doubt. But it's never fun being the general dogsbody. And when you're working for free you find yourself in a mire of self-pity fairly quickly. Is this really the impression of the working world that we want to leave upon our interns?
No comments:
Post a Comment