5 Lessons Summer Internship Has Taught Me

Ever since I got into college, everyone seemed to be obsessed with summer internships. Back then, I couldn’t truly understand its importance for my future career opportunities, but following the common hype, I was vigorously applying for different companies, just because everyone else did so. Thus, when I managed to land an internship in a company, it seemed as if I were thrown in the ocean without knowing how to swim. Anyway, if you can’t swim, you drown, and it is just like that when it comes to the business world. My first encounter with this world didn’t go as smoothly as I could hope, but it surely gave me invaluable life lessons, which I highly appreciate.

Think before You Do

As I mentioned, I didn’t give much consideration to the company and position I applied for, as it was a sweeping decision I couldn’t really control. It would have been much better, though, if I had carried out a small research. In that case, getting acquainted with the working environment wouldn’t have been so overwhelming.

Acting as an Adult

When I messed up with the presentation (I had left the flash drive at home and there was no back up on the cloud), I learned that crying like a little girl won’t solve your problems. I have learned that there are worse things than parents’ reprimand for the mischief and teachers’ low grades – it is the disappointment of people who rely on you. Sure, now I pay more attention to details that can cause great troubles when you underestimate their importance.

You Are on Your own

Taking up a summer internship is hard as it is, just because you are supposed to work when most of your friends, who are not interns, indulge themselves with everything summer has to offer. Although I always felt the support of my family and friends, I couldn’t help feeling lonely. With time, however, I learned the benefits of leaving your close ones behind – I could finally focus on my work and get things done. Turned out, it was a good thing, as it really helped me to become independent and take responsibility for my life.

Every Mistake Makes You Better

Through trials and errors, I managed to overcome everything that had been bugging me for years – my shyness, passive behavior, lack of confidence. Without this internship, it would have taken much longer to deal with these issues.

Flexibility

As you may have guessed, my first internship wasn’t exactly connected to my field of studies, as I was so happy to have landed a position that I agreed without much consideration. Anyway, another lesson I learned is that everything can be figured out if you pay some efforts. There is nothing you can’t learn or do. Trust me, I know what I am talking about.

All things considered, I’d say that my first summer internship has taught me the things I could never have learned at school or at college. And yes – I learned how to swim.