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More than ever, colleges are pushing their students to learn beyond the boundaries of their pristine campuses and get out into the real world. Some career paths place more emphasis on real-world experiences and connections than others, but as a general rule, internships are a natural stepping stone to your first “adult” job and are going to help you more than they’re going to hurt you.
If you enjoy your internship and it’s connected to something that you are genuinely interested in pursuing as a career, you have the potential to gain valuable knowledge and dedicated mentors who can help you make professional connections. Even if you don’t like your internship, it can still be a valuable learning experience; perhaps at the very least, you’ll learn what you don’t want to do, which can save you a lot of time and energy in the long run.
Today’s interns don’t necessarily mirror the coffee-fetching, overworked character that Anne Hathaway plays in The Devil Wears Prada (although some of them certainly do). All of the internships I have held throughout my college career so far have allowed me to create tangible results for the companies I have worked for, including promotional videos, infographics, marketing posters, and written articles. They have been mutually beneficial arrangements in that the company gets more marketing materials or content and I end up with more examples of my work to show to future employers.
For those of you who aren’t going into film production like I am, internships go far beyond the entertainment industry; I know business majors who have interned at firms and nonprofits, pre-med students who have shadowed doctors, and aspiring educators who have gained classroom experience as early as sophomore year. Internships aren’t just for college students, either; some are for recent graduates and actually do pay a decent amount of money.
To celebrate all of the hardworking interns out there, a company called WayUp created National Intern Day. National Intern Day falls on the fourth Thursday of each July and its purpose is to acknowledge and celebrate the dedication of interns across the country. Being an intern can be tough sometimes, but it can also be rewarding and working your way up is usually a prerequisite for success. Hardly anyone just wakes up one morning and knows what they’re doing; no matter what industry you are in, there will be a learning curve.
If you’re an intern, pat yourself on the back today for your hard work and if you have interns, remember to be patient with them if they don’t grasp a concept right away. They just want to learn and after all, you were in their position once!
There are a variety of ways to celebrate National Intern Day. If you own a company that has interns, you can pledge to celebrate online in order to show your interns how much you value their contributions to the company. It’s completely free to do so and as a result of your participation, your company will automatically be considered for WayUp’s Top 100 Internship Programs. Even if you don’t want to go the official route, you can celebrate your interns by buying them food, letting them leave work early, or posting about their efforts on the company’s social media. If you are an intern who would like to receive some concrete recognition, you can nominate yourself and ask people to give you their vote. There are rewards in it for the interns who get the most votes, including a VIP Festival Experience at Austin City Limits for the number one intern.
Whether you’re looking for an internship, you’re currently an intern, or your intern days are behind you, the fastest way to celebrate National Intern Day is to take a look at the amusing Twitter posts below. #InternLife gets a little too relatable sometimes and at least one of these will make you smile.
1. These interns who can’t seem to get a good night’s sleep:
I’m at the point in my internship where my nightmares consist of giant coffee beans holding red pens chasing me down dark corridors.
Curse these endless coffee runs. #internlife #coffeeruns
— The Writing Intern (@InternWriting) July 19, 2018
So I saw this darkish part under my eyes and I legit thought that it was from the mascara I wore earlier today and did not come off well despite using two different makeup remover. And then it hits me……
It's just a super serious case of dark circles….
Yikes. #internlife
— Asmaa Aziz ★ (@Asmaa95Aziz) July 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/jakeswanson2019/status/1019914470548803584
There’s no such thing as a weekend and weekday anymore. It’s all just one tirelessly long day held together with copious amounts of caffeine and constant complaining #internlife #doctor #medtwitter
— Dr. Noshin ✨ (@Nosh09) July 21, 2018
2. These interns who need some direction:
Someone told our boss they "could hear her interns panicking from down the hall" so now of course we are panicking about how loud we are panicking #internlife
— Angela Guido (@angelaguidooo) January 25, 2018
With no World Cup games today, I’m not really sure how to spend my work day… should I actually…. *GASP* work?!? #InternLife #WorldCup
— Chris Zupan (@chriszupan) July 5, 2018
My coworkers are hard at work developing websites while I photograph my plants and "aww" over the nice comments they get from Facebook house plant groups. #InternLife
— auds 🌱 (@AudreyChristine) July 16, 2018
I have been at work for 90 minutes & no one has given me anything to do. #internlife
— Madison (@madisonl5683) July 12, 2018
3. These interns with, um, interesting jobs:
During the fitness class I was helping instruct one of the ladies came in said “sorry if I’m a little odd tonight, I just had a couple glasses of wine and i really needed this workout” #internlife
— Nichole DeBoom (@boomsie7) January 25, 2018
#InternLife at Gunn-Mowery means riding around on a trike to get the office excited for the @UnitedWayCapReg #TrikeRace on Friday (oh and some hard work too 😉) pic.twitter.com/GZnLG7jDYh
— Gunn Mowery (@GunnMowery) July 18, 2018
Today we all had our head circumferences measured (for unknown reasons might I add??) and without fail mine was the smallest by 2 inches. 🙃 #peahead4lyfe #20in #iwonderiftheyaregoingtomountourheadsonthewall#internlife
— TheBeesKnees (@TheBees19588601) June 28, 2018
https://twitter.com/hgriffenmusic/status/1017149405743362048
4. These interns who are just done:
Solo damn True!! XD #internlife pic.twitter.com/7BQ4cInGjd
— Emna 🇹🇳🍁☕️📖 (@mamouu8) July 21, 2018
I hate how some people treat interns sometimes. I’m not 5, don’t talk down to me. I’m here to do work you need help with and learn more about the job. Don’t give me something that is nonsense. That doesn’t help anyone when everyone is swamped with work #internlife #respectplease
— Jen Hudson (@jhudson2393) July 2, 2018
My entire team took the week off from work and didn’t tell me… queue me coming into work tomorrow with a ton to do and no one to help me… #internlife #Happy4thofJuly
— Domagoj (@domagojk_) July 4, 2018
Either the interns are testing the softness of our rug samples or Jill broke them. Either one is a possibility. #interiordesign #interiordesigner #interiordesigners #interiordesignerlife #interiordesignerslife #internlife #designinterns #newoffice #newofficespace pic.twitter.com/CLOEkDeHdj
— Just Jill! Interiors (@JustJill_) July 5, 2018
5. And finally, these interns who are hungry for more than experience:
We are celebrating our interns with an ice cream social, because they deserve it! #NationalInternDay #InternLife pic.twitter.com/iAWn011mRr
— Compass Careers USA (@CGCareersUSA) July 27, 2017
https://twitter.com/realtalkmadhuri/status/1019673098306707456
Ate 3 cupcakes today @ werk #internlife
— KT (@ktschulz) July 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/NathanJMansur/status/1017483536658558978
Happy National Intern Day and don’t forget to use #NationalInternDay if you post on social media!