Julia: How to turn an internship into a job opportunity

At university a lot of people will tell how important it is to get good grades (which it definitely is), but it is also really important to get work experience. Apart from looking really good on your resume, it also gives you the opportunity to road-test your degree and make sure the major you picked is right for you.

During my time at Monash I have been lucky enough to participate in one of the many industry based internship programs on offer, which has allowed me to gain valuable workplace experience and achieve credit towards my degree. How good is that?! You can undertake a placement with a whole range of different organisations, so at the start of this year I joined the BusEco Marketing Group, along with another student, for a semester-long placement. I finished at the end of first semester and have really enjoyed keeping in touch with the team and helping them out by participating in activities, photo shoots and events.

The recent announcement of the Monash Business School has got the department working flat and out with the overflow of work, so Val (another of their trusty former interns and previous blog contributor) and I have been called in over summer to help out as casual staff members.

My job will vary a bit, but currently I’m responsible for rounding up all the academic publications on the BusEco website so that I can then transfer them onto the new site, after I complete the CMS training. Sounds pretty interesting, right? Even though it’s mainly copying and pasting, it’s pretty important stuff so I need to keep my wits about me to make sure I don’t miss any crucial publications, confuse authors or muddle up dates. Some might say it’s a bit like a giant referencing assignment!

It’s certainly different to what I would normally being doing on my summer break – and believe me, I am not complaining! What a great pay off for working hard, making a good impression and keeping in contact! You never know where a job opportunity might arise so make sure you keep your eyes open, look for opportunities and always try to put yourself out there while you’re at uni!