How relevant is an internship in the Canadian job market.
As we all know, internships are an excellent method to obtain relevant work experience and expand your job opportunities. However, there is fair criticism on the explicit nature of this internship. So it is essential to understand the main advantages and disadvantages of internships in context to the Canadian job market.
Let’s first address some of the key advantages.
Get relevant work experience: The most crucial advantage of internships is that they provide a safe environment for students and recent graduates to obtain job experience. This is significant since most businesses are hesitant to hire someone who has never worked before because they believe you will be unreliable and will not know what to do or how to work if they have no experience.
Of course, this creates a vicious spiral of you needing the expertise to get a job, but how can you gain experience if no one is willing to employ you? This is where an internship comes into the picture. It provides students and graduates with real-world experience, which might be essential for their future. Interns also develop a variety of soft skills and practical abilities, which helps them in their respective careers.
Help to build a network: Skills are undoubtedly essential to succeed in your career, but networking is vital too. An internship can be an excellent way to connect with people who are in your niche. The internship also allows you to get rid of your shyness and interact with people of different experiences; all of these interactions will eventually be very useful in your later career.
Boosting your Resume: Certainly, the most crucial advantage of having an internship is boosting your resume. You can have a wide array of skills to show off to potential employers. Many top-rated companies only recruit from their pool of interns, and they arrange internship programs around the year to help facilitate talents.
It Helps You Choose a Speciality: It may not always be certain which route you may want to take in your career, and an internship can be an excellent way to venture into a specific field before taking on the actual job. You may be surprised that interest in a particular topic may not necessarily result in a career you like in the long run. An internship allows you to get a sneak peek before venturing into a career.
With so many advantages being discussed, let’s address the reasons why internship sometimes attracts bad press.
The tendency to be exploited: Certainly not always the case, but few organizations often mistreat their interns. They are treated as an assistant rather than fellow co-workers and often given a ton of labor-intensive tasks that would otherwise have little to no effect on the career prospect of the interns. Therefore, it is essential to do your research before applying for an internship and understand the daily responsibilities you will have.
Low earning potential: there is a growing debate about whether an internship should be paid or unpaid in the industry. To be completely honest, interns do not contribute the same way a regular employee would but that do not mean they would not be in pain even a dine. Many employers take this opportunity to exploit interns and pay them so little that it does not even cover their travel expenses. This severely puts interns into financial difficulties where they tend to lose focus and, in extreme cases, end up changing their careers.
They do not guarantee future full-time employment: Internships can be difficult and not financially feasible, but the most significant drawback with internships is that they do not guarantee future full-time employment. Many organizations even do not consider an internship as job experience, and this makes securing a job even harder.
Final Words
So, should you consider an internship, or it is best to find an entry-level job instead? Well, it highly depends on which industry you belong to; people in tech and finance will definitely appreciate the value internships add to their resume while people in other fields may find otherwise. To find the latest job opportunities, do not forget to visit the jobsnearme website.
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