Myth & Reality behind Internship
Until and unless you have done your MBA from the top most or prestigious college of the country; summer training or internship, may seem to be a distant dream. Why? When I was in the third semester of my MBA with specialization in Finance, I tried approaching a few companies for summer training. The answer was no. no one responded to my resume like I wanted them to.
The turmoil was such, that in private sector, I literally had to rub off my feet to get in and seek experience. But, did I get the required experience? On the basis of my internship/ summer training at a private company during my MBA, and on a few more experiences of people, here is what you need to know about MBA summer training.
The myth and the truth behind MBA summer training/internships
- First, the private companies will hardly hire you as interns or summer trainees. If at all, you manage to get training in a company, no one will have the patience to sit and explain things to you, or clarify your doubts, for that matter. The internship will only be through a reference, that too, someone who has good links in the company of your choice.
2. If you have specialization in Marketing, most of the private companies will require you to work on Sales, as an intern. Worse enough, they will ONLY provide you the much-needed Training Completion Certificate, provided you give them at least one conversion or lead that materializes.
3. The worse thing about MBA summer training is interns doing direct marketing for the company’s brand awareness. You may feel like doing nothing and acting as a slave of the company.
4. A lot of companies provide summer training or internship to the candidates, simply to clear off their pending work for free.
5. Myriad of private companies hire interns or summer trainees so as to assist their own people for point D).
In such a scenario, where internship seems to be such a tedious task, there are still a few good companies that offer value to the interns in terms of exposure, experience, money & sometimes even job offer.
In case, you do not feel valuable enough in an internship, it is important to realize that learning is in your own hands. You can always take charge to learn things by observing and asking a few questions from people around you, despite working on all the points mentioned above.
