From school lessons to real world experience

In a little more than a month I will be a college graduate. Pretty scary if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. And I don’t think any one really knows. So yes, internships are a big part of deciding if I want to continue this.

Everyone always say that working in real-life situations differ than what you learned in classrooms. It’s not until you apply everything you’ve learned that you get to see how it works. Although my internship is with a non-profit, I have learned that that’s true to a certain point.

It’s great to come in with fresh ideas and GREAT enthusiasm.. It shows the employer you’re ready to work. I’ve learned that is to be proactive. Meaning inside of just doing what has been assigned I should stay busy. Learning new tasks and something that isn’t just handed to me will be useful. Even the minimal tasks have to be handled with responsibility.

There is definitely nothing like getting your idea rejected, but you can’t take it personally. Criticism is part of the job. I’ve been thankful that feedback has been constructive. I won’t say that it didn’t hurt a little. When I had rewritten a 1,000-word feature story only to have the source back out. Well, that was a little hard to take. You have to remember to not to take it personally.

Lately I’ve been looking through blog posts to pick up other useful tips. Some other things I’ve learned from the Positivity blog and PR Daily:

• Mistakes and failures are good.
• Don’t beat yourself up.
• Don’t compare yourself to others.
• Write everything down. Always carry a pen and notebook.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions. There are opportunities to gain experience from just about everything.

And if all else fails, always, always try to remain positive. No one wants to do something they hate doing. I may not be too sure what I want, but at least I can try to keep positive while I figure it out and avoid the infamous “What are you going with your life?” question.