Author: Kristiina Kivimäe
Internships can be a great start for getting first work experience and improving skills that are essential in today's work field. It can be seen as a bridge between academic life and work life. Besides, getting hands-on experience can help students understand what kinds of tasks they like and which they do not. Internships with flexible schedules can help students improve more skills related to time management and goal setting than internships with fixed schedules. In this blog post, readers can discover the benefits of an internship with a flexible schedule.
Productivity
Internships with flexible schedules can increase interns' work productivity and the quality of their work. That can be possible because they can choose the working hours by themselves. Since every individual has a personal daily rhythm and routine, it can be difficult for some people to work efficiently at 9 a.m. For example, many people find that their productivity is highest from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the night. Therefore, when interns can choose the time when they find themselves most productive, it affects the outcome of their work.
Work-Life Balance
A flexible scheduled internship can boost students' motivation, lower stress levels, and help to avoid burnout. When students can choose their timetable, they can make it more adjustable and fulfil their personal needs. For instance, there are many people for whom concentrating for a long time is difficult. By taking more or longer breaks, these people can help to improve their focus during the workday. Besides, having the freedom to plan their schedule also helps interns to have lower stress levels. Since stress is strongly connected to burnout, having less stress can reduce the risk of having burnout during the internship.
Goal Setting
Having a free schedule can be difficult at first because it needs strong time management, prioritizing, and goal-setting skills. These are also skills that help students meet the expectations of future employers. Therefore, having a flexible schedule during an internship could be seen as training to be ready for future jobs. Besides, it helps interns understand how important it is to be accountable and how to communicate well with their mentors if they need advice or more time for their tasks. Additionally, while having to manage their work, time, and energy, interns can develop more willpower and self-discipline.
Independence
Flexible scheduled internships are helping students to be more adaptable and independent. These are the two most important features to be ready for remote or hybrid positions. After the COVID-19 crisis, it has become more popular among companies to create hybrid or remote positions. Thus, having experience working with flexible schedules can give interns the confidence that they are ready to work in such positions. Additionally, Generation Z cares more about their location independence, which means that more and more young people might want to work remotely in the future.
Cooperation Skills
Working as an intern with a flexible schedule allows students to develop cooperation skills. When interns have opportunities like taking charge of projects, they can learn how to cooperate with other interns, make agreements, and get things done on time. To make things run smoothly, interns need to improve their cooperation and leadership skills. Besides, having good cooperation during a flexible schedule needs extra effort in time management and problem-solving. For instance, when one of the interns wants to work in the early morning and the other late at night, they need to find a solution. They could meet in the afternoon to make it more comfortable for both of them or split the tasks and work both in the time when they have the highest productivity.
Conclusion
Internships can be the bridges between academic life and professional careers. Having a flexible scheduled internship helps students to become more independent and adjust to different situations, which is beneficial in hybrid and remote work. Besides, it directs them to improve their time management, prioritizing, and goal-setting skills. As well as productivity, self-discipline, and cooperation. Having a flexible schedule also helps to reduce stress and increase motivation. Therefore, a flexible schedule during an internship enables students to gain experience and develop the skills necessary to meet the expectations of future employers.
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