module 3.2 – Creatives In Progress

Module 3, lesson 2

Maximizing Your Internship Experience

In this generation’s fast-paced environment, building a career relies not only on skills and knowledge but also on connections and communication abilities. In this module, we will explore how meaningful relationships and effective communication can contribute to personal and professional growth.

objectives

Understand the role and importance of internships for career preparation
Learn strategies on aligning your internship experience with your career goals
Learn approaches to making the most of your internship program

Why Internships Matter

Internship, practicum, and on-the-job training (OJT) are different ways of describing a practice-based learning setup outside the classroom and within an actual work setting. Many universities employ this approach to close the gap between academic theory and real-world application. According to Husson University, the core benefits of internships especially for students are the opportunities to gain practical experience, enhance their skill sets, build networks, explore different career paths, earn academic and potentially financial benefits, develop professional skills, and increase self-confidence.

These are qualities that are aligned with the core pillars that are crucial for the career growth of creative media production practitioners: gaining experience, credibility and connections.

Types of Internships and their implications:

Paid: the main characteristic here is the financial compensation. This is very helpful for students that would need allowance for transportation and costs. The compensation for your efforts is a good driver for continuous motivation but do note that these internships are more difficult to secure.

Unpaid: many unpaid internships are focused on building hands-on experience without monetary compensation. Often, smaller studios or companies offer more creative freedom and control especially with smaller teams. It is however important to look out for signs of exploitation, given that interns are not given financial compensation.

For-credit: these are internships that are integrated into the academic curriculum. In the Philippines, the Student Internship Program in the Philippines (SIPP) is established for the purpose of preparing students for professional practices before graduation through the collaboration of institutions and Host Training Establishments (HTEs).

How to find the right internship (career goals, purpose, skills alignment)

With these options in mind, how do you find internships relevant to your skills? How do you know which internship is more aligned to your career goals and purpose? Three main strategies:

Utilize University Resources and Career Services

School mandated OJTs are likely to provide you with a set of instructions and helpful information such as roles that are relevant to your field, and companies (HTEs) that they have an established partnership with. These selections are designed to align with your field’s skill requirements may it be content creation, design, or production. Although the selections may seem limited, this more structured process allows you to be directed towards developing creative and technical abilities.

There are also career advisors or online portals that hold information on many internship opportunities. Look out for opportunities in film, media, or communication industries. Make sure to engage with legitimate advisors and be wary of dubious programs and offers.

Leverage Online Platforms and Social Media

There are several credible sites and platforms that are designed for helping you find a position that best fits you currently. LinkedIn, Indeed and Glassdoor are some of which. These are also tools for networking with other professionals, as well as for promoting your services or skills. You can maximize their search engines and filters by defining your career goals, interests, preferred work set up, etc.

Network and Build Professional Relationships

People can consult with their current network of professors, classmates, family and friends for internships that could best suit their interests.

While you may juggle with these three strategies, remember that an internship is also an opportunity to experiment; creatives will gain exposure to different skills when looking for a wide variety of internships. This is especially applicable for smaller companies and startups where you can expect more creative freedom. It’s possible that you’ll even wear different hats.

For bigger companies and corporates, expect better structure, resources and tools, but stricter branding guidelines and workflows. Although this may vary from company to company, it is helpful to put these tradeoffs on creative freedom in consideration when choosing an establishment best fit for you.

Making the most out of your internship

Set Learning Goals

A clear learning goal in your chosen field ensures that you are entering the position with direction and purpose. Identify what specific skills and/or experiences that you want to gain—you may want to learn about client relations, work well in production teams, or master technical creative tools and equipment. While this is a question to ponder on before taking on any role, understand that these learning goals may expand when given unexpected tasks and duties.

If not provided by your educational institution, you can create your own internship plan that simply outlines your goals for the internship.

Ask questions

Don’t be afraid to ask. Clarifications are necessary. Internship is a great avenue for learning beyond the theories you have learned in the classroom, and communicating what you don’t understand just yet.

If there are tasks that seem unclear to you, you may start with asking about the bigger purpose or objective, especially if it is already blurred out by the amount of details and deliverables. A clear creative direction and workflow starts with understanding the goal of your task and its contribution to the bigger picture.

Asking questions while maintaining professionalism indicates initiative and engagement.

Mentorships

Although not mandatory, mentorships allow meaningful internship programs. Mentors can be found in the educational institution you belong to or in the host organizations themselves. Aiming for mentoring ensures that there is a credible individual/group supervising your growth in the industry. They can offer constructive feedback, guidance, career plans and networks.

Work towards a portfolio

Your experiences and learnings can materialize in a portfolio. This can be an effective capstone for all of your takeaway. This framing can therefore serve as an effective motivator for undertaking your work and assignments intentionally.

Connecting to organizational goals

Interning is a great practice for learning about the bridging of creative practice to company goals. Creatives highly value aesthetics and expression, but it’s important to learn to communicate them to the decision makers of the organizations.

Thoroughly about the organization you work for is one of the ways to boost performance and character. Employers are likely to value and recognize employees that initiate and are curious beyond the instructions and set of information given to them.