Elevate Your Game: 5 essential soft skills you can learn during an internship

Internships provide invaluable opportunities for individuals to gain practical experience and develop essential skills that go beyond technical knowledge. While internships allow students to apply their academic learning in real-world scenarios, they also offer a platform to cultivate important soft skills that are crucial for success in any professional field. 

According to Subhankar Chakraborty,  student at the Apeejay Institute of Management and Engineering Technical Campus (AIMETC) in Jalandhar, “Internships are crucial for building soft skills as they provide real-world experience and exposure to various work scenarios. During internships, we can learn effective communication, teamwork, time management, adaptability, and problem-solving skills. Having interned at Hikup as an Influencer Marketing person, I honed my skills in strategy development, consumer insights, and team productivity. Additionally, as Co-founder & CEO of Growean, I further developed my abilities in problem-solving, maintaining a positive attitude, organisational skill, and effective collaboration.” 

These experiences helped the budding professional grow and contribute to his success as a 23-year-old pursuing a B. Tech in Computer Science & Engineering, specialising in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, which he believes are invaluable for his future career in marketing strategy and consumer psychology.

Sharing a similar perspective, Riya Rana, who completed her MBA programme from AIMETC emphasises, “Completing multiple internships has significantly boosted my self-confidence. Internships provide an excellent opportunity to develop and enhance various soft skills that are valuable in the professional world. Some of them that I nurtured during my internships were communication, time management, professionalism and work ethics.” 

Riya, who has interned with multiple organisations including ICICI Bank, PlanetSpark, MINK Organics and IFortis Worldwide during her educational journey, further shares, “Internships helped me to enhance my communication skill and thus, I will be able to interact with my future colleagues, managers, and clients professionally and express my ideas clearly. Learning time management is helping me to prioritise tasks, manage deadlines, and balance multiple responsibilities effectively.”

So, what are the other soft skills budding professionals can nurture during internships:

Professionalism: It is an essential soft skill that individuals learn during an internship. It encompasses behaviours such as maintaining a positive work ethic, being punctual, demonstrating accountability, respecting others, and presenting oneself in a professional manner. Internships provide opportunities to cultivate professionalism and understand its importance in the workplace.

Teamwork and Collaboration: Internships often involve working within a team or alongside colleagues from diverse backgrounds. This environment fosters the development of teamwork and collaboration skills. Interns learn how to collaborate effectively, contribute to team discussions, respect diverse perspectives, and work towards common goals. Through collaboration, interns also develop skills such as compromise, negotiation, and conflict resolution, which are essential for maintaining a harmonious work environment.

Read This: ‘Internship introduced me to the corporate industry, opened up new opportunities’

Adaptability and Problem-solving: Internships often expose individuals to new challenges, dynamic work environments, and unexpected situations. This provides interns with the opportunity to cultivate adaptability and problem-solving skills. When faced with obstacles or changes in their projects, interns learn to quickly adapt, think critically, and find innovative solutions. These experiences help interns develop resilience, resourcefulness, and the ability to remain composed under pressure. Sharing his learning experience, student of Apeejay Stya University Harshit Rajput said, “During my pharmaceutical industry internship, I learned and enhanced valuable soft skills. Effective communication, time management, teamwork were some of the key areas of development along with  improving my ability to communicate professionally, manage deadlines, and adapt to dynamic situations. Problem-solving and critical thinking skills were honed through analysing complex issues. Additionally, I experienced the importance of collaboration and teamwork in interdisciplinary settings. These soft skills are transferable and make me a well-rounded candidate for future opportunities.”

Communication: Effective communication is a fundamental skill in the workplace, and internships provide an ideal environment for honing this skill. Interns have the opportunity to interact with colleagues, superiors, and clients, improving their verbal and written communication abilities. Through various forms of communication, such as presentations, emails, and team collaborations, interns learn to articulate their ideas clearly, actively listen to others, and adapt their communication style to different audiences.

Time Management: Internships provide a taste of the professional world, where time management becomes crucial. Interns are typically assigned various tasks with deadlines, and they must learn to prioritize their work, manage their time efficiently, and meet project milestones. By juggling multiple responsibilities, interns develop skills in setting goals, planning their work, and maintaining productivity. Learning time management during an internship can be invaluable as it sets the foundation for effective work habits in future professional endeavours.

Also Read: Building a Strong Job Profile: From leveraging internships to crafting an impressive resume

Undoubtedly, internships are the best way to learn all essential things needed to advance one’s career. As individuals engage in real-world work experiences during their internships, they build a foundation of soft skills that will benefit them throughout their careers. Therefore, internships should be embraced as valuable opportunities for personal and professional growth.