Internship helps students get work experience, but does it benefit the company?
Most students treat internship as hard-to-get chances that allow them to familiarise themselves with the work environment of their preferred industries — and it's no secret that these few months of temporary employment benefit them a great deal.
However, this works vice-versa as well. In fact, interns can actually bring a lot to the work environment of a company, whether it's through fresh perspectives, genuine enthusiasm or the willingness to tackle every job that comes their way. Metrolife speaks to a few professionals to find out how companies benefit from bringing interns on board — in whatever small way.
There exists a prevailing notion that interns can actually be a burden to an organisation because of their lack of experience and expertise. And Nandini, who is a human resource professional, says that this isn't entirely untrue.
"Interns don't always help a company to a great extent. They have to be taught from scratch to adapt to the work culture of an organisation and the latter has to spend about a month training them," she explains. However, she's quick to add that this doesn't mean firm's can't milk the opportunity to get some work done.
"It depends entirely on the company's point of view. If they give someone an internship just for the heck of it, they probably won't get anything out of the deal. But if employees talk to the interns and understand their point of view, they might just benefit from it," she says.
Japnit, who works at Wipro, also believes that a lot depends on the attitude of the company, as well as that of the intern.
"In my experience, it can go both ways. Many large companies have a policy to take in interns who are serious and give them projects which actually benefit both," she says. Personally, she's encountered the opposite scenario as well.
"I've interned at two places — at one, I had nothing much to do. At the other, however, the company was going to a new platform and wanted a certain procedure set for its employees. Most of the employees weren't willing to leave their work and take this up, so I was brought in as an intern.
I wasn't paid for it but it helped a great deal. In this case, the company benefited more than I did," she recollects, adding, "often, students get internship merely through contacts and don't end up contributing much. But if both the intern as well as the company take each other seriously, both can benefit."
Madhu, a software engineer, claims that interns actually get a lot of work done through sheer enthusiasm and the desire to please. "Many of them are still completing their graduation, and they're very enthusiastic. They learn faster and put in their best. I think they're a huge advantage to the company solely because of their interest to learn," she concludes.