Here's five tips on how to perfectly hack an internship

Those looking to succeed or become better at what they do should readily adopt Pele's quote. The legendary footballer himself found meaning in this saying.

Raised in abject poverty, Pele always looked for opportunities to practice his skills, including playing on amateur teams. Sometimes, for lack of a proper football, he would be found playing with a sock stuffed with newspaper and tied with a string.

Anything for practice. From these humble beginnings, Pele went on to become the best-paid athlete of his time and the only player to win three FIFA World Cups.

Recruiters match Pele’s desire to succeed to what college students and young graduates should aspire to especially when interning.

According to recruiters that Hashtag spoke to, students should look at internships as the best opportunities to practice knowledge until they gain enough confidence before they accept real jobs.

Recruiters offer more tips on how to hack this period.

Conduct background research

Identify the organisation you want to intern for and research thoroughly on it. Part of the organisation’s background you need to dig into, according to Eagle HR Consultants CEO, Patrick Mutisya, is its history.

“Your association with organisation will always follow you even after you leave and look for positions elsewhere. It is important to ensure that you tick off organisations of ill repute,” says Mutisya.

He points at organisations that are notorious for compromised standards or corruption and warns graduates against striving to work for them.

“If an organisation is infamous for theft and everyone knows about it, the vice may follow you wherever you go such that when something gets lost, you will be the first to be questioned. Take time to learn an organisation’s ethics and ways of conduct,” says the HR Consultant.

Seek to stand out

Maximise on getting noticed by the larger crowd. These days, getting an internship is as much an uphill task as getting a real job. Some of the reasons that students graduate without an industrial attachment mark is actually failure to land one.

According to Francis Muhindi, Manpower Services Managing Director, the gravity that goes into looking for a job should be employed when looking for an internship.

“Something as simple as internship can haunt you all your career journey. A simple statement detailing that so and so is very humble and hardworking and should be accepted on any team can actually get you places even if you are not taken in after your internship,” says Muhindi.

Mr Muhindi is specifically put off by intern seekers who arrive late at the interview imagining an internship is of little importance.

“In fact here, we have a rule to lock out any person who arrives late for an interview. We never even give them a chance to explain themselves,” he says.

Manpower Services is a regional recruitment consultancy that has recruited personnel for top companies and the government.

A personal appearance at your target organisation also gives you an edge over other internship seekers, according to Brighter Monday CEO, Emmanuel Mutuma.

“This way, you have a chance to sell your other attributes. You can show your communication skills by the way you choose to express yourself, bring out your aggressiveness, your good grooming and such attributes the recruiter won’t see if you just send mail,” says Mutuma.

Portray the right attitude

The recruiters maintain the importance of observing discipline once you have landed the internship opportunity.

“Don’t get into office grapevine or talk negatively. Instead, maintain a pleasant personality, be kind to everyone, focus on your duties, be humble, flexible and to portray a willingness to learn,” says Mutuma.

“Your supervisor will need someone they can easily work with. If they want to show you a thing or two after office hours, don’t tell them that your working hours are over. Cheer up to the idea and show you are flexible and willing to be taught at any time,” adds Musyoka.

Learn all-round

“Take chances and make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.”

Mutuma says it is the best time to learn from as many fields as possible because you are at liberty to gain a variety of skills.

“It is also a time of practice where you can be allowed to make as many mistakes as possible because you are learning. This is the liberty no one will allow you when you are employed,” he says.

He says the career journey of Centum Investments CEO, James Mworia inspires him the most.

“James Mworia once said he had many opportunities to get jobs but instead agreed to be taken in by Centum Investments on a graduate trainee programme. On this platform, Mr Mworia worked in different departments and, I believe, this is what helped him learn the ropes of even leadership,” says Mutuma.

In past reports, the Centum CEO has revealed attending meetings with the then company CEO and taking notes for him, says Mutuma.

Don’t seek monetary gain blindly

The Brighter Monday CEO gives his own account of internship.

“I worked at Kenya Ports Authority for nine months as an intern IT Helpdesk Technician. I kept renewing my internship after every three months with a hope of being hired,” say Mutuma.

He says that during this time, he didn’t receive any form of remuneration from the company, despite his good work and dedication.

His experience, he says has enabled him to advise both employers and those looking for interns in matters relationship.

“I advise interns to overlook all the challenges and focus on the invaluable experience and the opportunities that come with interning. But I try to talk sense into employers looking to hire unpaid interns. I tell them to remember that since they are part of their team, they also represent the employer’s brand. And satisfied teams represent the brand better,” says Mutuma.