Students’ Speak: Internships help students become more competitive in job market

By: Kabila

Internships are an important part of any course curriculum as they provide students with the essential hands-on experience in how different industries function. Kabila shares insights on how internships are used by companies as strategic talent pipeline for entry-level positions and how good internship experience can provide the much-needed boost to freshers’ resumes.

Internships are an essential requirement of any course curriculum since they provide much needed industrial exposure to the students. They offer the best possible way to acquire knowledge and skillset without joining any fill-time vocation. Besides, internships also help you to establish professional connections in the desired field of study. A good performance during the Internships can also lead to a potential job offer with the organization.

Students pursuing internship also get a reality check whether the particular field is suitable for them and a keen look at the people working on different roles. A good recommendation after the internship is required as you can attach them for your future reference. Internships opportunities make students more competitive in the job market as they would have earned the necessary hands-on industry experience. Internships are meant to provide a real-life working environment, so it is better to handle them with the utmost professionalism. A good internship will enhance your CV with relevant experience and makes you stand out from the crowd.

Internships are in fact crucial to the development of soft skills. It provides an opportunity for you to evaluate the industries, as in case of a potential job offer you might be working 40 hours per week with them. Most companies use internship programs as a strategic talent pipeline to hire candidates for an entry-level position in their organization. An internship is also important for employment in other industries (where you might apply after your internship), as those companies can rest assured since you know the basics of the domain and it might be easy for you to secure a placement in there. It also sends multiple signals to your prospective employer, one being that other companies are looking forward to hiring you and the other being that you are committed to working in the same field/ domain.

Thiagarajar School of Management does provide students with off-campus placement activities. The placement cell sends students to other colleges to attend placements. Students are also allowed to apply for their jobs independently to the industries either by applying directly or going to the walk-in interviews conducted by the industries, in addition to the on-campus placement activities provided by the placement cell.

Students undertake projects related to their field of study during the internship or otherwise. While pursuing an internship, the industries provide the student with the project charter, which contains the essence of the project. The project charter defines the scope, objectives and constraints of the project, the directions for achieving the solutions and also the tools required to be used. By the end of the project, students learn the professional way of dealing with problems and also get hands-on experience with the tools used in the industry.

Students can also take up a voluntary project with their college departments, which can put to test the theoretical knowledge learned in the classrooms. Projects are a great opportunity to learn more about the concepts in a certain field and the experience of trying something new is extremely beneficial in the long run. The projects along with the acquired skillset boost the student's profile and help them a lot during placement drives. Organizations are always watching out for people with the required skillset even for the entry-level profiles, as it reduces the time required by the new joiners to ramp up. Reducing the ramp-up time is actually good for the industry as it improves the overall productivity.

About the Author:

Kabila is an engineering graduate, pursuing her MBA from Thiagarajar School of Management. Albeit with a work experience of 2 years in her profession, she has always been passionate about being a Tamil orator and has presented various fiery speeches in Media, Institutions and Election campaigns