An internship is like a “preview” that exposes students to the real-life working experience – what it’s like to wake up in the morning to hustle at work, handle clients, and mingle with colleagues at work while getting your job done.
A Malaysian marketing intern recently expressed what she feels about her internship so far. In a viral Xiao Hong Shu (RED) post by 铁饭网树洞?, the intern admitted that she felt she was being underused.
Coffee, snacks, parcels, GO!
When the intern expected to learn more about the marketing field, she said for RM800 a month, she was mostly responsible for coffee and snack runs.
For illustration purposes only
“I am not so comfortable with this. My supervisor often tells me to get him breakfast, and whenever a package is delivered, he’ll ask me to get it.”
The intern finds it inappropriate to say no because she thinks it’s only natural to be instructed by a supervisor to do something. However, her experience thus far is not what she had expected before she signed on for the job.
For illustration purposes only
Not especially when she’s a degree student.
“I’m here for my internship. I genuinely don’t think menial tasks like snacks and coffee runs are within my job scope. I’m really here to learn more about my field.”
So she started to think that it was time for her to say NO to these tasks (politely, of course) that were not doing her any good, or not guiding her anything about the real marketing world. However, something stopped her and made her reconsider the decision to reject irrelevant tasks – her colleague.
“My colleague told me that I was overthinking. Apparently, this is what any intern would have to experience.”
For illustration purposes only
An intern being underused, or overused is not something uncommon. It has been happening for many years, to the point that some students felt like they completed their internship without learning anything new, or related to their respective industries.
Can you recall what were your tasks back then when you were an intern, a newbie in the working class society? In the meantime, what do you think of coffee and snack runs for an intern?
Also read: M’sian Gen Z Intern Watches K-Drama at Work, Falls Ill When Given Deadlines Because “she’s stressed”
