Start-up vs. Corporate Internships: Know where to Intern?
You have probably started applying for offline or online internships with some of the world’s leading firms. Internships in a well-known organisation are an excellent way to start your career. It not only adds an extra edge to your resume but prominent organisations offer a whole load of other benefits like thrilling locations, a structured environment, training programs, working with a team of professionals and other interns, and more.
Sounds exciting, right? But have you given a thought to applying for internships at various companies, like a start-up, for instance? Applying for an internship in a start-up might not have been your first preference, which is why we have assembled a few points to guide and brief you about the insight.
Let us discuss why a start-up internship, might be a better choice for you:
1. Secure an internship in a start-up
Every pupil and their cousin will be applying for an internship in a giant tech company. Though there will be ample room for internships but it will fall short in front of the huge pool of applicants. Not many people think applying for an internship in a start-up, therefore you will have minimum competition and a good chance of securing the spot. The reason is not that the experience at a start-up is inferior to a big company, but not many students are aware of them.
At University, you are exposed more to larger companies as they lean towards career fairs, internship fairs, etc. Unfortunately, here no start-ups are on the board. However, it could be your covert golden nugget to career experience. Start-ups have a whole different culture than large companies in terms of flexibility. One of the start-ups I can think of now is Unschool an Edtech firm. It has been awarded among the top 5 start-ups in 2020. It offers online courses on various domains along with internships.
Moreover, the application requirements are different from that of the corporate internship. It may concentrate more on your past work experience rather than your academics, and you can welcome your passion to the table. If you make the right impression then your chances are higher of getting that secret spot.
2. More responsibility in a start-up.
As discussed before, an internship by a popular organisation offers lots of benefits, but what will you be doing day-to-day? In a start-up, human resources are treasured meaning that there’s a high probability that you’ll be performing on real projects from day one. This might sound a little terrifying, but working with a team, to deliver tangible results will give you a brief insight and real experience of how tasks are finished.
3. Learn how organisations work in a start-up.
Working as an intern for a large company often restricts your exposure to all business functions. In there you will be assigned a specific task around a business area with hundreds of other interns and employees, therefore the chance of exploring is low. At the end of the internship, you will gain a rich knowledge of that business function but nothing much.
However, in a start-up, this is definitely not the case. Start-ups posses have smaller teams, so you will be in the limelight and experience all business functions that the company performs, showing you the big picture, which is missing in a large company.
Another great thing about start-ups is they like to keep all employees in the loop, encouraging thoughts and actively seeking feedback from each other. This is perfect if you are uncertain about what you want to do in the future, you can experience it by trying out different tasks.
4. More feedback working in a start-up.
With all these responsibilities and being able to work in various job functions will receive an invaluable experience. Receiving feedback from your peers at a start-up will be a lot easier than from the larger companies. This is because you will work closely with professional members of the team at a start-up and build a healthy relationship with them.
Likewise, ULead is considered a start-up offering an online internship program to students for upskilling. Experience the domain of sales to marketing from the grass-root level and lead a team of your own. To know more click on this link https://www.ulead.in/.
5. Experience a diverse type of work culture.
Rather than working in an office with thousands of cubicles while wearing formal start-ups tend to be a little relaxed. Often, start-ups opt for business casual and tend to have an open office space environment like a big round table. This is not visible in the corporate office because there are more desks and cubicles and a smaller room for an open environment.
As you can gather from this guide, it is the best option to explore if you are uncertain about your future. However, the prime difference between a start-up and a big company is their working environment. The final decision lies in you that fits your personality and career goals. Getting an internship in a big corporate is perfect if you are looking to work for multinational companies in the future. While working as an intern in a start-up will give you all the experience you will need. Whichever way you decide to go, keep in mind that you can change it up later.