I know you don’t want to screw up your first internship. You may take a breath of relief because I’m here to the rescue (just like Pepper Potts).
I request you to not act like Dwight Schrute from ‘The Office’. Trying too hard to please your mentor won’t row your boat.
Now this would sound absurd but some organisations don’t really give work to their interns. You can assume that this is quite normal unless you are being paid. You might think not getting work is cool, but trust me it’s not. Sitting idle and scrolling through your Instagram feed for 5 hours straight is not fun. Don’t wait for the work to come to you. In a case like this tell your reporting authority about the work you want to do. For example if you think you can help them with their official website, let them know. Don’t make the mistake of sitting idle or bunking even if the organisation is not taking interest in giving you work. This is because in the end the organisation will be sending a report to the college directly which would talk about your performance.
As an intern, no one expects you to win a major deal for the company or solve a critical problem for the company. Try to soak into the environment, and learn as much as you can, even if you may feel that there is no work at all.
You might be luckier than your batch-mates who have deadlines to meet and task-sheets to complete, but don’t lose out on learning and gaining experience during your internship. Take the initiative and make your own task sheet.
Make the most out of this opportunity. You have been blessed with the option of choosing your work in accordance to the skills you possess.
And remember, no Dwight Schrute!
Ritika Raj
(Batch 2021)