Following the completion of their education, many media graduates find themselves in a type of limbo where they want to join the workforce, but they don’t have the required experience to do so. As such, internships are a perfect opportunity for these individuals because they can enter the working world at a smaller scale and learn what they need to enter a junior position.
However, internships aren’t only beneficial for these individuals.
Publications should look into doing internship programmes as a way to invest in future employees for their company. Why? Well, not only does it give them access to new talent within the media industry, but it allows them to nurture this talent and train up
ideal employees for themselves.
So, how do they make sure they make the best out of their internship programmes and give interns what they want?
media update’s Lara Smit is bridging the gap between publications and interns right here.
Let’s learn from the interns:
1. They want to learn as much as possible
Interns often embark on their journey into media careers with external knowledge of the media industry and how it works, but little to no internal experience
in it. They are blank slates ready to be filled with new knowledge and skills in the industry that they are so passionate about.
Additionally, internships are usually quite short and the last thing that an intern hungry for experience wants to do is sit and twiddle their thumbs. So, one of the best ways that publications can help them to learn as much as possible is by setting up an itinerary for them in advance, filled with
loads of stuff for them to do.
This itinerary can be filled with a variety of different activities to make sure that interns can cover all bases in the bizz. These activities can range from shadowing different staff members to actually participating in projects. This will allow them to learn by watching and doing — expanding their knowledge in several different ways.
2. They want guidance
The belief that interns should be thrown into the deep end and sink or swim is definitely a flawed idea. Why?
Interns don’t want to be put into initiation processes that are designed to break down their confidence and set them up for failure. They want to be built up and given the
right tools to do what they
need so that they don’t only succeed but excel.
Furthermore, interns are competent human beings that, under the right guidance, can flourish and contribute a great deal to your business.
So, what can you do to help them?
Find an employee that is willing to mentor an intern and is passionate about teaching people. This way, interns can learn about the industry directly from an experienced professional. This type of guidance is also beneficial because it allows interns to get constructive feedback and inside knowledge that will
really help them to thrive.
3. They want you to have expectations of them
Interns are ready to prove themselves as professionals. This means that they want to contribute to the publication and establish a voice for themselves within the media industry.
Publications can assist them in doing this by providing them with opportunities like:
- building their reputation in the industry by working alongside established industry members
- teaching them new niche skills, and
- helping them to create a portfolio by letting them collaborate on projects.
With these opportunities, publications should provide interns with learning objectives and goals that they should meet when they take them. This way, interns will know what is expected of them and they can strive to meet a particular standard of work.
Setting up goals for these individuals will also help them to ask the right questions and focus on identifying and developing the necessary skills to be successful in the industry.
What’s more is that if they do not meet their expectations, it will allow you to identify gaps in how these interns received guidance. Therefore, you will be able to refine your internship programme and approach, so that you can better assist future interns down the road.
4. They don’t want to be undermined
Internships have
evolved from assistant jobs — where they perform menial tasks for superiors — to
employees who contribute to publications by collaborating on projects and bringing fresh perspectives to the table.
Instead of being seen as the babies of the company, interns would like to be taken seriously and they want to be valued for their capabilities. So, although they may not know much about the ins and outs of publications yet, they have the potential to grow and thrive in the industry. They also want this potential to be nurtured and acknowledged.
But how do you make sure they don't feel undermined? Simply through
reassurance.
When interns meet the expectations and goals that you have set out for them, be sure to give them validation for their efforts by telling them that they are doing a good job. This will eradicate any self-doubt that they may have, help build their confidence and motivate them to continue meeting these objectives.
It will also encourage them to adjust their goals to even bigger ones — allowing them to grow and contribute more to the publication. This is all while they are meeting the goals and being a benefit to any publication that they join. There's no better bow to tie up that gift with.
If you have been an intern at one point or another, what would you have liked out of your internship?
*Image courtesy of Canva