Restart your career with internships

Sarvesh Agrawal

Kamakshi Pareek has a familiar story. Before getting married, she worked with some major companies as an operations manager. Later, she quit her job to take care of her husband’s family and her child. This went on for four years but she had this constant wish to get back to work and become self-dependent. So, she finally decided to give herself a chance and took up a virtual internship as an HR consultant. She learned new skills, gained experience, and most importantly, regained her self-confidence. 

In India, even the most ambitious and career-oriented women often take a career break, majorly because of the added responsibilities after getting married. Sometimes, all these responsibilities get overwhelming and result in the extension of a few months break into a years-long break. And when they are finally ready to step back into the professional world, the career gap poses a hindrance due to the absence of up-to-date skills. 

Here are a few reasons why internships are an ideal way to get back to work:

Flexible work timings and options: Unlike regular jobs, internships require comparatively less commitment. Internships also come with work-from-home and part-time options, and thus can help you settle with the sudden transformation of your day-to-day life.

Bridge the skill gap: A long gap in your career puts you behind the current workforce due to rapid advancement in technology and work practices. To overcome this, you can do an internship where you'll be able to pick up the latest skills by actually applying them.

Experience on real-time projects: In today's age when work experience is valued over having just the theoretical knowledge, it would be beneficial to have an internship experience on your resume before you start applying to regular jobs. This will uplift your self-confidence.

Build a network: While interning, you get to work on a variety of tasks. You'll  work with diverse professionals and build a network for yourself. This can prove to be useful when you start applying for jobs. Also, there are chances that over time, your interests and expectations from a job might change. 

Millions of women in India have stories like that of Kamakshi. If you are one of them, don't be disappointed. Get an internship and restart your career!

— The writer is  the founder & CEO of Internshala (internshala.com)