Internship Myth Busters!

By Hariz Roslan, CE & Joyce Shamini, CV

UTP has long been renowned for its lengthy internship periods, but there are some really dangerous misconceptions floating about, often confusing even its own students! So it's time to separate the fact from fiction when it comes to internship placements!

MYTH: Big companies are ALWAYS better than small companies

FACT:  True, big companies might boost your CV but to what extent will it help you? (Especially if you wind up stuck in the office finishing up your superior’s petty jobs.) A smaller company on the other hand means a smaller staff count and more individual attention. Supervisors tend to personally undertake the job of mentoring and nurturing you. A better supervisor-intern relationship is built, you get to handle more critical tasks or projects as you prove your worth over time, and who knows you might end up working WITH them instead of FOR them, and that level of involvement itself is a worthy mention in your curriculumn-vitae (CV).  

Conclusion: Size doesn't matter. 

MYTH: GPA matters MOST. 

FACT: Yes, outstanding academic qualifications would help and companies do look out for these academically stellar individuals, but aren’t there just thousands and thousands of them out there to choose from? Afterall, “'you are unique, just like everybody else”, so what gives you the edge over others? Networking. Your interpersonal skills put to application, it’s now up to you to associate with influential people that could possibly land you an internship, or even a job in the future. It is true that most job and internship opportunities do come by way of recommendations, be it by your lecturers, seniors or UTP staff.

Conclusion: Networking > Academical prowess

I mean come on, how much of what you learn are you going to use anyway?

MYTH: An overseas internship is all travel and fun. 

FACT: When you start your internship in any local or overseas company, chances are your colleagues are expecting you to work just as hard as them, if not harder. Granted there is the initial stage of showing you around and getting you comfortable but all that gracious hospitality is only going to last for about a week. Most overseas interns come back, admitting that they did do their fair bit of hard labour and came across many difficult situations which those travel photos plastered all over their Facebook timelines would never be able to reveal. For most of them, a good night’s sleep after a long day of work is a good enough vacation for them.  

Conclusions: Yes, you do get breaks and leaves from work but 70% of the time you will be working your butts off.

MYTH: Never send your CV directly to the company, only apply through UTP’s Internship Unit. 

FACT: A popular misconception within our university. It started of with Facebook posts reading “Don't send your CV directly to the CEOs ” which then evolved into “Don't send your CV directly to the companies, only go through UTP’s Internship Unit” being circulated among our students. While it’s true that we should never send our CV to top-level managers and to a particular list of companies provided by *CSIMAL (due to a Memorandum of Understanding between the companies and UTP), we can and are encouraged to send in our CV’s to the Human Resources Unit (HRU) of any other companies we’re interested in. Should you be unsure of the department or contact details, do contact the company’s general line. There are always people that would help to redirect you to the proper channels, just don't be shy on asking.

Conclusion: Shoot those CV’s away, to infinity and beyond! 

MYTH:  Emoticons, multiple exclamation marks and short forms are okay to send along with your CV. 

FACT: We’re not sure if even a basic thing like that needs to be clarified but surprisingly, this was one of the common mistakes cited by Mr Mohd Izmafaimal Bin Abdul Manaf, Executive of Centre for Student Internship, Mobility and Adjunct Lectureship (CSIMAL) often frowned upon by potential companies seeking applicants. Never underestimate the power of email salutations, notice of attachments, using formal language and having common decency in your emailing or phone conversations in influencing your chances of getting an ideal internship placement. Get someone to guide you if you’re unsure.

Conclusion : Learn proper unwritten etiquettes when it comes to communication and emailing.

MYTH: CSIMAL shortlists candidates for MoU Companies and Overseas Internship Placement.

FACT: CSIMAL follows the requirements set by the MoU companies (main criteria such as CGPA) , sponsor and etc. Should there be 100 students that satisfy the requirement(s),  100 names will be sent in. If the company requests 100 Curricular Vitaes(CVs), hence 100 CVs will be sent. No authority has been given to CSIMAL to filter the students, including applicants for the Overseas Internship Placement. If there are students recommended to go overseas and it suits their interest, CSIMAL would forward their names without any unnecessary delay. It is obviously in CSIMAL’s interest to ensure that UTP’s students secure the best internship placement possible, therefore they are doing their best to achieve that. 

To sum up, we’d like to quote John F. Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Likewise, as we dream of an internship that could offer us the the most in terms of experience and knowledge, we need to also assess ourselves and weigh our capacities against the company or research university we’re up against. 

P.S. HOT would like to thank Mr Mohd Izmafaimal Bin Abdul Manaf, Executive of *Centre for Student Internship, Mobility and Adjunct Lectureship (CSIMAL) for his time and willingness to be interviewed for the content of this article