Assignment Title: Role of an Intern: What to Expect From Your Internship Role
Course: CHMN 699 - Internship
Student: Kristine Sage
2022
Professor: Dr. Mary Smith
Liberty University
What does an intern do exactly?
Contrary to popular belief, an internship isn’t about organising a filing cabinet or fetching coffee for
your boss. The responsibilities of an intern has evolved. In many internships programs, you’ll find
yourself working on project, managing a small team and even working along some executives.
It’s important you enter your internship with the right mindset. If you don’t know what to expect
from your internship role, you’ll be better prepared and know what you need to do to succeed. Also,
carrying out your intern responsibilities successfully will assist you in building up a potent skillset that
will shine in your next role.
What is an intern?
An intern is a trainee who has signed on with an organisation for a brief period. An intern’s goal is
to gain work experience, occasionally some university credit, and always an overall feel for the industry
they’re interning in.
Internships may be paid, partially paid, or unpaid. However, there has been an increase in the
number of paid internship opportunities, woo! The engagement period may range from a handful of
weeks up to 2 years. With longer-term internships, you’ll almost always be compensated in some way.
The compensation may include a monthly wage, accommodation, travel expenses, and a food
allowance. Other benefits could be a stipend gym membership or even a personal laptop.
It’s also not uncommon to receive a full-time offer upon completion of your internship with a
company. Studies show that employers like to hire interns and use their internships as well to source
new talent for their company.
Where can you intern?
If going abroad or moving across the country is not quite what you’re ready for, you always have
the option of pursuing a remote internship. Remote internships are the ability to intern with a global
company in comfort in your own home as everything, you guessed it, is online. Though you may not
physically be abroad, there are still numerous benefits to interning remotely.
What does an intern do?
So what does an intern do exactly? That depends on the industry in question and the kind of
internship you’ve signed up for. Research internships come with a different set of roles and
responsibilities than, say, an internship in accounting.
An intern is primarily a support role – at least in the beginning. When you join up, your main job will
be to assist, learn, and grow. After you’ve settled in, you’ll be expected to pull your own weight.
Here’s a general overview of the work you can expect to do as an intern:
1. Assist and contribute to the team!
As an intern, don’t expect to spearhead a critical project right off the bat…at least not yet. In the
beginning of your internship, you may your time simply trying to learn how the company works. You
may shadow an employee to get an understanding of their role. After a day or a few days of learning the
ins-and-outs of the company. You’ll start to assist and contribute more to the team.
Here are some day-to-day intern roles and their responsibilities:
Performing clerical duties: Creating PowerPoint presentations, drafting reports, designing
creatives, researching trends and the like.
Managing social media and emails: You may be asked to handle the company’s social media
accounts, write emails to customers, talk to clients on the phone, and similar duties. Your day may
include designing social media posts, scheduling them and creating a general strategy for your posts.
Event handling: Interns are often asked to oversee the scheduling of important events. You may
asked to help get everything prepared for an important. From securing the location to assisting the
creation of a theme to sourcing your key speakers.
Research: Interns fresh from a university education have a great deal of up-to-date knowledge.
Your organisation may put this knowledge to good use by placing you in a research role. You may be
asked to look into a new project and give your recommendations on how best to execute it.
2. Learn and gain experience
You’ll be expected to learn as much as you possibly can while you work, regardless of the kind of
internship you’ve signed up for. What kind of learning will you be doing? It can be broken down into two
main areas:
Picking up hard skills: Hard skills are the technical skills you need to carry out your intern
responsibilities, and eventually job duties, successfully. Examples include learning some technical skills
to management skills to understanding data analytics.
Brushing up on your soft skills: Soft skills are as important as hard skills. Soft skills are all about
your ability to relate to people and building mutually-beneficial relationships. Examples are emotional
intelligence, motivation, people-skills, listening, and excellent communication. You need soft skills to
manage clients, not to mention get along with your bosses and colleagues. Soft skills are key to
navigating your work environment and can even contribute to job progression. Word of the wise, don’t
underestimate them.
3. Job shadow
Job shadowing has become the norm recently. As the name suggests, the practice involves
“shadowing” someone as they perform their daily duties, observing their activities, and learning what
the role entails via indirect experience. This is an especially popular practice in hands-on fields like
engineering and healthcare.
How does this work exactly? When you join the organisation, you may be assigned a mentor. The
first few weeks, you may be tasked with following them around. They’ll show you the ropes while they
work. You may be asked to assist with light tasks here and there. You’ll be encouraged to ask questions.
Job shadowing is an excellent way to get a deeper understanding of what it will be like to work in your
industry on a day-to-day basis.
Once you’ve shadowed for a while, you may be asked to help your mentor on projects or eventually
take over some of their tasks.
4. Take on an increasing amount of responsibility
As time goes by, expect to shoulder an increasing amount of responsibility. Initially, they’ll gauge
your current skill set and reliability with your initial workload. As you prove yourself to your colleagues
and bosses, you’ll be entrusted with more crucial tasks. The better you perform, the more the
responsibilities you’ll be given.
This is an excellent opportunity to showcase your abilities to your employer. It can also help
contribute to you receiving a full-time role afterwards. However, don’t feel like you need to shoulder
more than you can handle. Employers prefer quality over quantity – don’t afraid to ask for help if you
need it. Interns who can display that they can handle additional work and keep with tight deadlines will
be more likely to impress the boss.
5. Network
While networking isn’t an official requirement as such, it might as well be. Networking involves
building relationships with your bosses, colleagues, and customers and clients. You’ll need the backing
and support of people in places to build a successful career. Also, building good relationships with
customers is always good for the organisation.
Here are some examples of the kind of networking interns do:
Finding a mentor: Mentors act as anchor roles for interns. If you find a good one, you can follow
in their footsteps and build a successful career just like your mentor.
Forming a peer support group: Interning is hard. Finding a peer support group who is going
through all the ups and downs with you will make it much more enjoyable for everyone involved.
Getting in with bosses and coworkers: Interns who can build strong individual bonds with their
coworkers and bosses become a part of the “family”. You’re much more likely to be offered a full-time
role at the company down the road.
6. Make a career call
Finally, usually at the tail-end of your internship, you have to make a career-defining decision:
continue in the field you interned in or try your hand at something else entirely.
You got a taste of what working in your industry full-time would be like. Did you love the
experience and can’t wait to dive back in again? Or do you feel you’d be happier doing something else?
That’s the beauty of an internship0 you can always go into another field you would like.
Final Thoughts
Internships are usually short-term. They’re smaller investments in time and energy than full-time
jobs. But they are certainly without a doubt a great investment of your time. Consequently, they’re
perfect opportunities to explore your options. You deserve work that’s fulfilling. If necessary, you can
sign up for a different but related internship role elsewhere to see if you’re happier there.
Your internship is going to shape the course of your career. It’ll assist you in acquiring the skills you
need to perform up-to-par when you’re hired full-time. It’s essential you use your internship as the
training opportunity it represents.
