Landing a post-grad job can be daunting and difficult, especially if you’re graduating with a degree in mass communication. I was halfway through my third year when I suddenly realised that I had no experience in my field. I had plenty of knowledge from the classroom and an alright personality, but it became clear that if I wanted to get a real, grown-up job, I needed to get out there and do an internship!
When you’re at university, your lecturers, tutors and past students talk about how valuable interning is and tell you “it’s how that’s how I got my first job”. I don’t know about everyone else, but my eighteen-year-old self who cared more about what she was doing on the weekend than her career didn’t believe it would be possible to get an internship. This was because I thought that I didn’t know anything or have any relevant experience and also because I didn’t have the confidence.
Fast forward two years and I’m finishing up my internship with The Creative Collective and about to start my first full time job!
This is what I’ve learnt….
Don’t worry if you don’t have loads of experience
The whole point of interning is to learn and gain experience! Sure, you need to bring something to the table but if you’ve got a good attitude and are willing, you’ll love your internship and learn on the go. Also remember that you’re not going to lose anything by applying, so just apply!
Learning through an internship is different to learning in the classroom
The things you learn through an internship are very different to the things you learn in the classroom. I said after my first day interning that I had learnt more in that one day than I did in the whole three years I’d been studying! To rephrase, I learnt about what it’s like to actually work in the field, which is something university hadn’t and couldn’t have taught me.
Even if you don’t think you can do it, try anyway
A great piece of advice is to just give something a go, even if you aren’t feeling confident. Ask someone how or Google it! If that doesn’t work, try again. On my last day of my internship, I spent about 4 hours trying to figure out how to get subtitles onto a video for free. I researched programs, downloaded programs and used online tools (multiple times!). In the end, I managed to work it out, but not for free.
Every day is different with an internship
So many things can come up in a day that you weren’t expecting, and time can go very quickly when you’re focused and doing something you enjoy! This is such a refreshing change compared to the drawn-out shifts at my retail gig.
The team at The Creative Collective are awesome
The gang at the Maroochydore office were all welcoming and friendly and accepted me into their team for nine weeks. They were all so knowledgeable and always answered my questions even though they were busy with their own work.
I was lucky enough to attend a media launch with founder Yvette Adams, Allan and Arvind showed me how to edit websites on WordPress and the office dog Bossy helped me get through the long days. I wrote blogs, helped build websites, called lots of news outlets and much more.
My internship at The Creative Collective bridged the gap between study and work and gave me the confidence to go out and apply for a job in my field. This is something I did not feel like I could do prior to interning, and for this I’m so grateful.
If you’re considering applying for an internship, I would definitely recommend applying with The Creative Collective!
The more days the better and be willing to give anything a go. They offer a huge range of services to their clients so there is something for everyone.
If you’re feeling hesitant just remind yourself that you’ve got nothing to lose by applying! So, what’s holding you back?