In the summer of my junior year, I completed an internship with CERiA, a research institute based in Malaysia. As my first internship experience, I found aspects of the job that aligned with my expectations, and others that took some adjusting. For example, I knew that there would be an extensive research process due to the nature of the institute, and it ended up taking more than a week from the three-week internship. In order for us to complete our main task, which was to plan out a digital homepage, we needed a comprehensive understanding of CERiA first, which was achieved by reading and extrapolating information from the documents our employer gave us via email. However, what I expected to be a work-intensive, productive three week period proved to be a lot more relaxed and calm than I had imagined.
One mistake, or regret that I would change if I could go back, is to be openly communicative with my employer, especially regarding work-load. After the first week and a half of researching the business, I felt confident I could translate my newfound knowledge into the website plan, and I was ready to move on to the next step. However the remaining weeks weren’t as rigorous as I had thought it would be, and the workload took less than two hours each day to complete. And though I had frequently messaged my employer inquiring what my next task is, I feel that I should have been more straightforward and clarify my position. Our group was motivated and ready to be productive, but we just didn’t have enough material to last us through, and we should have let our employer know about this situation.
I feel that this lesson is so crucially important in all areas of employment for our future, and even in an academic setting. If you feel overwhelmed or underwhelmed, or anywhere in between that doesn’t feel right, it’s your job to let someone responsible know what you need. So my advice for next year’s interns would be to be unafraid of voicing your opinion and making a better work environment for yourself. It shows that you’re motivated and hardworking, and it’ll help you gain more from the experience if you do the most you can.