By Maryam Iman, Nur Hasina and Nabilah Huda Zailani
GOMBAK, 8 April 2021: Students are reminded to understand what internship attachment means to them since they are stepping out into the real work environment which requires them to put their knowledge and skills into practice at workplace.
Speaking to a group of students from Practical Training Class (COMM 4995) on Wednesday (7 April), Dr. Norbaiduri Ruslan told a webinar that internship attachment would be a good exposure for students to experience and explore for themselves the expectations of the industry.
“It is a step out of this artificial environment as you are putting all your knowledge and skills that you have into problem-solving in your workplace,” Dr. Norbaiduri emphasised.
As interns venturing into an environment they are still unfamiliar, she said, students should anticipate challenges they would face in dealing with issues and problems at workplace, which require them to use a lot of wisdom and maturity of thought.
Dr. Norbaiduri Ruslan, who is the Director of Office of Industrial Links (OIL), IIUM, and also an academic in the Department of Communication, shared useful tips with future interns on how to adapt and adjust themselves to meet employer’s expectations during internship attachment.
The webinar was organised with the objective to enlighten the final year Communication students on the concept of internship and to assist them in making preparations to face the work place demands and to acquire new experience.
By the end of the three month’s training, Dr. Norbaiduri said, the students are expected to have developed a higher stage of maturity as they have acquired an exposure to the actual world of employment.
She told the webinar that students should know themselves better in trying to meet the expectations of the employers. In this regard, the speaker also highlighted the fundamentals of a student’s expectations.
In choosing an organisation for internship, she said, students must find an organisation that matches them. If they are ambitious to work in a prestigious organisation they must be able to ‘sell’ themselves with genuine skills, show willingness to learn, adaptability and ability to solve a given problem.
In terms of allowance to be paid by the company or organisation, she said, it should be within the range of RM0 to RM1,500 depending on the company. However, she reminded, the higher the allowance, the higher would be the expectation of the company.
On flexible working hours, she said, it refers to the schedule which allows the students to start and finish their workday as they wish, thus enabling them to come to work earlier or later than the arranged time.
She noticed that although students may get two or more offers from the organisation, normally they tend to choose one that is close to the campus or their hometown for self-convenience.
Students would prefer a work schedule generally referring to the weekday work arrangement and their hours per day that students are expected to be at their job.
Some students might prefer to work for a smaller company for less challenging tasks. Nevertheless, she reminded that they must pay attention to the up-skilling needed in the job market and not just to fulfil their graduation requirement.
Dr. Norbaiduri further told the students that from the perspective of the employers, it is not surprising that they would expect Communication students to have outstanding communication skills.
Moreover, she said, it would be a waste if the students cannot even promote themselves to the employers. This does not only apply to their presentation skills, but also their language skills in using English and Malay in spoken and written form.
To elucidate more, Dr. Norbaiduri shared some tips for the interns in choosing their internship placement, among them: learning enrichment, organisation’s reputation, challenging workplace, opportunity for up-skilling, and structured internship.
As internship is a platform where students put into practice their skills, she pointed out that they should do some homework to understand the organisation and the work culture.
Dr. Norbaiduri further reminded the students not to use a one-size-fits-all resume for all organisations. Students were advised to prepare their resume according to the organisation so it will directly appeal to the job they are applying for.
Students were also told that the CGPA is less important considering that employers nowadays are more interested in searching for more talented graduates rather than just those who are good on paper.
Most companies or organisations would require interns to work from home during the current COVID-19 pandemic. This would really test students’ honesty and commitment. Students should therefore have the agility to solve problems and work resiliently without the physical presence of their supervisor, Dr. Norbaiduri said. ***