5 Ways You Can Lose Your Internship To Someone MORE Deserving

By Elizabeth Benu,
You finally landed your first internship and it feels great. You now have something to fill your CV in the “professional experience “section. Even with the excitement it may be easy to lose an internship as fast as you got it.

Internships form an important part of your career progressions and losing one will raise eyebrows of your prospective employers.

As Catherine Kamau, a Human Resource Manager at Freight in Time Ltd puts it, “Internships are a great platform for anyone who has attended collage as they give hands on experience as compared to class where everything is theoretical.”

She also adds that, internships are also a great way to find out whether you made the right career choice as most people tend to make wrong career choice based on their parents or friends experiences.

What mistakes would see you out of the door even before your 3 -6 months are over?

Kevina Nyambura a Human Resource Consultant at Fanisi HR Solutions outlines the following mistakes.

1. Not understanding the culture of the company

Are you the intern who blindly went in just because the company pays well, provides lunch for its employees or has prestige attached to its name? If so this will get you into trouble.

Ms. Nyambura says that, “Such leads to one not taking an internship seriously and making many mistakes. You end up not following the policies set up in the company and this brews trouble for you.”

2. Coming to work late

The job description clearly states you should report to work at 8:00 am but here you come strolling in at 9:30 am when everybody else came as early as 7:30 am.

“Most interns think ‘this is just an internship’ and it gives them the chance to not come to work in time. An internship is a great career opportunity so take it seriously,” Ms. Nyambura counsels.

3. Provocative dressing

You show up to the office with the latest trend; the short tight pencil-skirt every girl in town is wearing or alternatively wear a blouse that leaves nothing to imagination. You may be attractive to your friends but this may not as attractive in the corporate world.

“Some interns are not keen to follow the policies outlined in the organisation they are interning for,” she says.

She counsels on this saying, “Look at how other employees dress in that organisation and dress like them. Follow the set rules.”

4. Not doing your assigned work

“Some internships are unpaid and this gives the intern an impression that since they are not being paid no work will be done. If you are not doing your work it is a disservice to yourself and to the company too,” says Ms. Nyambura.

5. Being lazy

“If you were not prepared for your internship the above may follow. I would advise that you ask for extra work there. An internship is a learning platform . Be proactive; go ask if any employee wants assistance,” she says.

Her parting shot: “Take your internship seriously. Prove to the employer that you were a worthy consideration,” she concludes.

Dont Miss any Job Or Article Subscribe to Career Point Kenya by Email FOR FREE CLICK HERE