An internship is a practical experience normally undertaken during post-secondary education. The purpose is to give students the opportunity to take what they have learned and apply them to real life situations. However, there are many interns who have spent their “learning experience”, filing documents and doing the office’s dirty work.
It is understandable that an intern can’t be given the same level of reliability as the current staff; although not enough take advantage of a student’s present-day knowledge and their willingness to learn.
Conversely, there are internships where the employer takes advantage of the extra set of hands; as a result, the student and the organization can benefit immensely from the experience. Fortunately, I was one of those students. I had the opportunity to intern with the Hard Hat Hunter team. Not only was I treated like every other staff member, but I was given many opportunities to implement my leaning outcomes.
I was also exposed to circumstances that school could not have shown me, and was put into situations no test could have taught me. They always trusted me and my decisions – truly making me feel like part of the team.
Essentially, you get what you put in, and it goes both ways for the intern and the employer. By welcoming and accepting interns right from the get-go, likely, it will generate a positive attitude, and students will instinctively go that extra mile for the organization.
My experience at Hard Hat Hunter has been invaluable. When preformed properly, internships can be a great learning experience for everyone and I feel as though they are a great asset to any educational purpose.
Adele St-Pierre is a recent graduate of Canadore College’s Marketing Communications Program. She is pursuing her passion and continuing her education at Ryerson University in the Graphic Communications Management Program.
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