I am in year 1 in business school and a lot of my friends are planning to go for internships during this summer break. Should I be doing that? Is there a need to?

Question

Considering it is only my first year, I will have 3 more summers to do internships or attachments.

Jacob · Accepted Answer

Hi Anonymous, I guess ultimately you may wish to ask yourself what you wish to gain out of your 4 years in university. It could be to land yourself into a high paying job, or making a lot of networks in school, or trying out something new such as a new sports or dance or joining a new community organisation, or even picking up new skills (both hard and soft). The options are aplenty. And from there, slowly plan your advancement towards these goals.

As a side note, there are also companies who offer winter and part-time (during term time if your schedule permits) internships, albeit these offerings are not in abundance. Hence if you really wish to dip your toes into many roles and industries, you may consider maximising these windows as well.

Eventually, run your own race and do not be put off by what others are doing. You have invested a lot in your university education, so maximise the 4-year experience. This is possibly the last leg before you are officially a working adult. I can only wish you the best of luck in the journey ahead!

Yang Teng · Answer

Some may choose to go for a smaller company/startup first during Y1/2 to build up experience. They can then leverage on these experiences and vie for big MNCs for internships nearer to graduation where they have a chance to convert to full time employee and securing a job before graduating. For SMU, internship is considered 1CU and some may want to clear it quick.

Others may want to do intern Y2/3 and use Y1 to go for overseas exchange/community involvement programme (though unlikely now). Up to your own planning.​​​

Oh Yi Ning · Answer

Your summer internship will make a very good stepping stone for you when you embark on your new career after graduation! Your internship performance may be a guage as to whether your internship may be your future career place, making the job search process way easier. Your work experience counts for something because the skills you learn ultimately builds up your resume (VERY IMPORTANT!). Either way, an exposure to different companies allow you to learn different cultures and skillsets.

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Jin Yiping · Answer

I'm not from business but tech, but I've interviewed tens of candidates and screened hundreds of resumes for my company.

The key question is does your summer internship count? When I screen resumes, unless the internship is substantial (working on real impactful projects and deliverying results).

I don't know if an Y1/2 intern possesses enough domain knowledge to be regarded valuable by a company. More often than not, they'll just throw you some office work which isn't much related to your field of study.

Also, in terms of duration, at least 6 months is preferred over a 2-3 month summer program in the eyes of employers.

Sharon Yeo · Answer

Every internship is an opportunity for you to get a better understanding of the career you like and do not like to pursue. Starting early gives you the advantage of being able to change your mind on what you'd like to do in future, and still have some time to do an internship and try it out.

I have a friend who did 3 internships in the same industry, but decided after that he would not want to go into that as a full-time job. Because he started doing internships early, he could still squeeze in one more internship in a different field before he graduated.

Each internship also helps you build your portfolio, skills, experiences and networks so you are in a better position to secure your next internship - and ultimately, your first job. ​​​

Zachary Teo · Answer

Hey Anon! Go for it if you have the time to spare. It's a way to gain experience and earn some income. I always regret that I didn't went for enough internships during my schooling days. Take this time to try out big companies, startups, or even company outside of your expertise.

Each company have their own culture and through internships, you can identify which kind of company suits you the best. Importantly, you can build connections and gain experiences that your school doesn't teach. Go for it!

Zi Shuen · Answer

Yes, you should, you need to, you have to, and you must.

More experiences make you more employable without having a fantastic GPA (you may be surprised that not many companies actually look at GPA).

Also, those internships can be a 'guinea pig'. You may think you like marketing, but once you try it, you found out you don't like it. No issue with that, you can try HR next time, then finance, then sales, etc...

You have to keep trying new things out to know what really suits you, and the only way to achieve that is through having multiple internship experiences.

Plus, the world is full of uncertainty. Many undergrads' internships got cancelled due to Covid-19, or worse still, they couldn't find any coz no one is hiring anymore. Touch wood, but you can't be sure that the same shitty situation wont happen again in 2021, 2022, 2023, and you will regret your 'I have 3 more years to do internship'.

So, please go and take the summer internships. Not just summer, do the winter internship as well, during your school term take a part time internship as well if you can juggle between work and studies.

I am in my year 3 in NTU and I have already done 5 internships, excluding my internships in Poly and while I was waiting to enroll to NTU.

Bottom line: take up as many internships as you can, and you will see yourself shine and stand out from the sea of candidates.​​​

Ninja · Answer

You would have the same thinking on your second and third year summers. People your age are judged by the wide variety of internships they do. After all, how do you expect bosses employ people

Boon Peng · Answer

Generally speaking, there are more pros than cons for taking up a internship during year 1 summer. However, just because many of your friends are doing it doesnt mean you have to do an internship. In other words, one should not be doing an internship just for the sake of doing it. Moreover, by doing multiple internships doesnt also guarantee you a full time job if your internships are not relevant - there are people who gotten themselves full time jobs with only one internship .

Personally for me, I did a total 3 interships during my uni days. During my year 1 summer, I didnt have any internship. Reason is because after graduation I know I will be working for life, so therefore, I decided to make full use of my year 1 to make more friends by joining all the camp activities.

If you were to ask me, am I worried given that some of my peers are doing an internship at year 1? Yes it did worry me, but nonetheless, I did not regret my action by joining camp activities in year 1.

Now, you have to decide what is important to you, and there is no right or wrong. Once you graduate from uni, you will realise no matter what you do in your uni days (somehow) make sense. Like what Steve Jobs said, you can only connect the dots by looking backwards.

All the best :)

j · Answer

Hey, I what Jacob mentioned about "what you want in the four years of your university life" is really the key to this dilemma.

Perhaps one way that you can look at it is:

- Would you want an additional chance to try a different industry?

- Would an internship in y1, help me stand a better chance for subsequent internships in y2 & 3? considering that more reputable firms will be more competitive to get into their internship programmes and past experiences would be an additional boost to your resume

Otherwise, spending your time on developing other skill sets or making experiences through camps or organising committee during your year 1 summer is also not a bad choice (: YOLO!

Fahmiin · Answer

Internships is a great introductory to the working life you'll be getting into once you get out of u...

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