Although the issue of youth unemployment is undoubtedly concerning, many Korean college students still remain undecided about their career paths.
Most have difficulty in determining their career paths as they are uncertain about their true interest or have inadequate information and experience regarding the range of occupations.
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| A sophomore from Ewha Womens University’s law school is taking part in a law school internship held at Seoul Western District Court. (Yonhap) |
In this sense, internship may play a pivotal role in discovering one’s aptitude and talents, while tasting the realities of life in the wider society.
“Initially, I yearned to get a job in the finance industry, based on its social reputation along with its strong relevance with my major. However, after working in the field as an intern, I could objectively determine whether finance suits me or not,” said a 24-year-old student from a Seoul-based university.
The majority of students start an internship for a simple reason — “to add one more qualification to my resume.” However, most realize that there are a slew of other significant factors to take in as a lesson after going through the internship period.
One such lesson is realizing the differences between university life and life as a member of the society.
“The proper way to face superiors, how to talk politely, while being concrete, the need to take care of work ahead of time were some of the important things that I learned” said Park, who was an intern at a public relations company.
“But most of all, perceiving the way to form a ‘good human relationship,’ which is the core part of having an easygoing work life, was the biggest lesson that I received in the broad sense. It was a great opportunity to become aware that the workplace is very different from my university life.”
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| Participants gesture at an internship program held by the Korean International Trade Association. (Yonhap) |
Above knowing the significance of developing effective and good relations with others, comprehending the overall ambience and culture of the company is another merit of internships, since it can enable students to quickly adopt to the workplace.
A university student, who interned at the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry, confessed, “I had heard that employees work under a very free atmosphere at the place. However, after experiencing it myself, I realized that there were also some issues which were far different from what I heard.”
Meanwhile, to double the efficiency during the internship period, it is wise to opt for an internship that has high practical job relevancy.
Although a majority of internship recruitment notices initially inform that the interns will have a chance to share some workload of full-time employees, the reality might be much different.
Firms where interns handle miscellaneous work are aplenty.
A 26-year-old, from Hankuk Universities of Foreign Studies, indicated, “I actually experienced sharing some practical work of full-time employees. High job relevance really contributed best in deciding whether the job well suits me or not.”
Just unquestioningly relying on information available on the Internet is not the right way to find an effective internship. Rather, it is better to receive advice and information from pre-interns or go through as many internships as one can.
Although internship has no absolute role in determining one’s career path, no one can deny that it is the best means to have the biggest and practical influence on it.
By Kim Yu-jin (kimyujin@heraldcorp.com)
