As internship season approaches, everyone has their sights set on that dream experience. That was me. Wide-eyed with excitement and eager to beef up my resumé with “industry skills” and new achievements.
However, the unfortunate reality is that we won't know what kind of company culture we're getting into when we begin any new job.
Back when I was a third-year student in Temasek Polytechnic’s Diploma in Marketing, we were assigned to different companies for our 12-week internship. Two coursemates and I were attached to AZ (not the real name), a well-known local electronics company. AZ had just started to branch out into the food industry, and I joined the marketing department of its food businesses.
I was mentally prepared that given the nature of an internship, it would involve some sai kang. However, as weeks passed, all the tasks assigned to me were administrative in nature. On the other hand, my friends who joined other companies were learning actual digital marketing tools and skills.
So, if you’re feeling stuck in a similar situation right now (or perhaps anticipating one), let me share some advice on how to make the most of a bad internship.
1. Have a new perspective
I understand how you feel: What was supposed to be the pinnacle of your Poly education turned out to be your biggest nightmare. You were looking forward to learning new and relevant skills and tools from your internship. Instead, you are stuck with admin tasks. Worse still, if those admin tasks are ineffective in achieving their aim.
AZ's main marketing activities, such as cold calling and handing out flyers, were outdated. My daily assignments consisted of Googling details of potential businesses, data entry in Excel, cold calling companies and packing and writing business details on envelopes. On some days, my friend was even tasked to hand out a stack of promotional flyers to passers-by!
Despite feeling miserable about my situation, I was determined to change my perspective and look for the silver lining—which is to take every situation life throws at me and grow from it. Instead of dwelling on the negative aspects, I researched ways to automate data entry in Excel and began to view cold calling as a way to build my confidence when speaking to senior professionals.
With a new outlook and positive attitude, I gave my best in every task and completed it with enthusiasm. Similarly, a slight change in your perspective will enable you to deal with bleak situations with renewed motivation. For one, take it as a chance to learn, adapt and grow.
2. Be proactive
In order to maximise your learning opportunities, you need to maintain a positive spirit and make the effort to be more proactive.
As I performed the little tasks well, it gave my supervisor confidence that I was ready to take on bigger assignments.
Hence, when I requested to help out in other marketing projects, she began involving me in meetings and gave me opportunities to handle more challenging tasks. I was brainstorming ideas for Facebook posts and even got the chance to go for a site recce on a potential location for a new food stall!
For the site recce, I went above and beyond by creating a PowerPoint deck analysing the crowd and suggesting ways to improve footfall. In addition, I was able to pick up a new skill, design and create content for an email marketing promotion.
All things considered, I've realised that your internship experience depends on what you make of it, not on how little or how much you are given.
When you are proactive, you take charge of your learning. Instead of waiting passively for instructions, grab every chance to show your boss that you have finished your work thoroughly and are keen to be part of more projects and tasks.
3. Remember the future benefit of an internship
I did not acquire as many hard skills as I had hoped for, but more importantly, these 12 weeks taught and honed my soft skills in being proactive, adaptable and a team player.
If you're in an internship you're struggling to enjoy, focus on learning one or two things from it. Even if you feel like you didn't get much out of your experience, hiring managers would be interested in how you made the best out of it.
To put it another way, your worst internship experiences can be the most instructive. Looking back, my time in AZ allowed me to understand my career preferences and the work culture I wanted to be in the future. Reflecting on why AZ wasn’t an ideal place to work at gave me clarity on what to look out for in my future search for full-time roles.
So, I would like to encourage all students, whether or not you're having a great internship, to take some time to reflect on your experience. Think through what went well and what did not, and discover what you wish to gain or avoid in future roles.
Making Lemonade out of Lemons
At the end of the day, whether your internship goes smoothly or turns out to be dreadful, it is really alright. It’s just a stepping stone to finding your own career path.
Even though my dream internship experience did not turn out the way I had imagined, I am still grateful for this chapter of my life. I’ve learnt to navigate and thrive in what seemed like a bleak situation by looking at it from a different perspective, being proactive and focusing on the big picture.
With unexpected twists and unforeseen obstacles in school and life, I hope these lessons will remind you to make the best out of any situation. Remember that your internship is a learning experience and what you take away from it is in your hands—the ball is in your court.
