After a cousin told me about the importance of internships for a college student, I started searching for some. I live in a tier-two city with almost no in-office internships and I was not sure what to do in the beginning. Due to my studies and exams, I could not venture out of the city for work. However, after reading about virtual internships I decided to apply for the same. Every web page that I visited suggested Internshala as one of the best websites linking students with desired internships. So without wasting any time, I registered on the internship platform and applied to a few in the field of content writing.
In the beginning, I was rejected by the companies that I had applied to. However, I kept receiving emails about how important it was to keep on trying and how difficult it was to get selected due to intense competition. Those emails really motivated me and I asked for the Internshala resume guide to work on my resume. I also read some articles on their blog for a suitable answer to the question that ultimately decides your fate at the desk of the employer – “Why should you be hired?”.
After correcting the mistakes that I was making in my resume and answers, happiness reverberated in my ears in the form of two beeps from my phone. I found that the texts I had received were to notify me that I had been selected for two internships – at Word-o-net Writing Studio (popularly known as Hunterest) and Storieo. I couldn’t believe it at first; getting selected for two internships simultaneously was a Herculean coincidence. And excited as I was, I took up both of them. The selection for Hunterest was through a simple telephonic interview where they asked me about my educational background and why I was interested in the role. It was my first interview and I was a bit nervous, but the nervousness turned to happiness when I was told that I could start working from the very next day. Storieo required its interns to have a special interest and skills in creative writing, something that I had indicated in my resume and I was selected directly based on the same.
For Hunterest, I had to write 2-5 articles regularly on various topics like lifestyle, tech, food, health, travel etc. Additionally, I was also writing content for OYO Rooms in various cities through one of their projects. Storieo, on the other hand, is a website which publishes short stories and book reviews. There were no deadlines and no regular submissions. I could submit a short-story at my leisure and could extend the internship after every two months until I completed the allotted target which was twenty stories.
My internship at Hunterest got over in a month and the employer was prompt enough to bless my bank account with my first stipend, but she sadly didn’t show the same punctuality in sending me the certificate. I emailed and waited but her response was extremely vague. Then I read one of the e-mails from Internshala informing me I could contact the admin anytime if I was facing any complications. For the same, I contacted the organisation and in just two days, I received my certificate.
Soon, I got my third internship at Trekteller. After a short telephonic interview where I was asked about my previous internship experiences, I was asked to submit two sample articles on topics provided by them. They liked my articles and I was selected. During the internship, I had to write three blogs every day on assigned topics. The organization covers international cities like Paris and Sydney and I wrote about good hotels, spas, shopping centres, restaurants etc. that could help travellers on their visit to those cities.
I have worked as an intern for three different organizations now in a span of only seven months. I learnt about the inverted cone structure that is used to write for websites and e-commerce platforms from my mentor at Hunterest. She was patient and cooperative enough to answer all my queries and guide me through the internship. All of that knowledge helped me when I worked for Trekteller to create good quality blogs. During the time I spent at Storieo, I unearthed the hidden short-story writer in myself. Before that, I had never thought I had a talent for writing short stories but Storieo helped me publish 20 stories, and I’m proud of having discovered this talent. All of these experiences have brought out a confidence in me, that help me handle interviews better, and pushed me towards the frontiers of growth and self- development.
I can proudly say that Internshala has helped me in making the most of my first year at college. I’ve learned invaluable lessons from these experiences and now I’ve understood that virtual internships can also be really helpful for one’s career. And the saga continues, with the quest for new opportunities and challenges, always to be mentored by Internshala.
About the Author: Abhipsa Mohanty is pursuing B.A. in English Literature from BJB College, Bhubaneshwar. She shares how she got three virtual internships in her first year of college and started her content writing career. This story was first published on Internshala.