Category: Internship

blog Internship | 4min Read

7 Ways to Get An Internship in High School: A How-To Guide

Published on March 25, 2022

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7 Ways to Get An Internship in High School: A How-To Guide

While internships are usually seen as something exclusive to college students, taking on internships in high school has tons of benefits. Not only do they make your college applications stand out, they also give you a headstart in your career by providing you with hands-on industry knowledge and networking opportunities at an early age.

So far, high school internships haven’t been too big of a fad in India. However, that is rapidly starting to change, and you should hop on the bandwagon before the rest of the crowd!

Wondering how to get an internship in high school? Here are 7 ways you can find and land on your dream internship:

1. Family and Relatives

Before you start hunting far and beyond, why not take a look at the contacts you already have? Your family is not only the people you love, but also the first level of networking you receive right when you are born! And chances are, someone from your family or relatives may already have connections with organizations looking for young and fresh perspectives. And if so, they may just be willing to have you on!

2. Guidance Counselor

If your school has a guidance counselor, your second course of action should definitely be to reach out to them. Guidance counselors have an abundance of resources available with them, and they are trained in gauging your aptitude and interests, and subsequently recommending the best resources and courses of actions you can pursue.

3. Cold Mailing

The tried and tested method. If you have organizations in your mind that you really want to be a part of, why not drop them a good (c)old email? For maximum success, you must follow proper email etiquette, convince them of your candidature in limited space, and assume a formal tone. Attaching a detailed resume and portfolio can only improve your chances!

While wait times can be uncertain with this method, the advantage of cold mailing is that you get to aim for the organization as well as the position that you desire. Most organizations will already have a contact email provided on their website. But If you wish to be even more thorough, you can create a Linkedin account, and look for the profiles of the CEO or HR management of your preferred organization. Chances are, they would have provided their own email addresses for you to write to! 

4. Summer Programs that offer Guaranteed Internships

Summer Programs for high school students are usually sessions to train students in theoretical aspects of certain subjects. However, some programs take it a step further and offer guaranteed internships for their students to apply their theoretical learnings in a practical and high-stakes environment.

Our Ivy Early Entrepreneur program, offered in collaboration with mentors who are Ivy League alumni and industry leaders, trains high school students for a week in crucial aspects of entrepreneurship – like design thinking, market research and fundraising. This is followed by a guaranteed 2-3 month internship with our mentors and partner firms, where students get invaluable experience as budding entrepreneurs.

5. Online Platforms

There are various websites on the internet that compile or offer internships and programmes for high school students. Websites like Internshala compile internship opportunities from a wide range of employees. Other websites such as Henry Harvin conduct training and internships targeted at high schoolers, and offer certification for the same.

6. Research Institutes

While these are not “internships” in the strictest sense of the word, several leading research institutes hold rigorous programmes where high school students get practical experience in the application of science and mathematics fields. A few such programmes include PROMYS (Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists) to be held in Ashoka University from 2023.

Our Program, Build Robots That Matter (in collaboration with Makers’ Asylum) teaches students to build robots that align with the United Nations’ Sustainability Goals. Provided with a free toolkit, students develop their inner maker while being conscious of the environment.

7. NGO Organizations

Several Non-Governmental Organizations across India offer internship and volunteer opportunities to high school students. While these options may not always be paid, they allow you to give back to the marginalized sections of society, and let you connect with people from many diverse communities. 

A few NGOs where you can try your hand include Smile Foundation and Child Rights & You(CRY), which benefit lakhs of children; HelpAge India, which helps senior citizens; and CARE India, which focuses on ending poverty and social injustice.

Conclusion

So while high school internships are a relatively new idea in India, there are more than a few reasons to try landing one for yourself. The effort you put in now is sure to pay dividends later, in college as well as your career!

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blog Internship | 4min Read

My Internship Experience: The Big Red Group

Published on July 28, 2021

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My Internship Experience: The Big Red Group

Name: Fiza Kazim

Highs School: Mayo College Girls’ School

College: Symbiosis School For Liberal Arts

Believe it or not, internships for high school students aren’t just about fetching coffee and photocopying documents. They are extremely beneficial for networking, acquiring experience, and ultimately landing that ideal job in your field.

Getting real-world experience working for a genuine company is an important part of your undergraduate education. I have received my fair share of that during my internship at The Big Red Group. From landing the internship, completing my tenure and joining back – it has been an extremely wholesome experience for me. Through this blog, I’ll share my experience as well as some advice that may be useful to you during your internship.

How Did I Land The Internship?

Being a fresher in college I was unaware of many internship opportunities. So, one day I decided to seek help online. I posted about my educational background and interests on a Facebook group called Network Capital. 

Interestingly enough, this group has a network of more than 60 thousand employers and employees searching for one another. Our founder & CEO Rishi came across my post and asked for me to get in touch with the team at the Big Red Group. 

Upon Interviewing and deliberating on my interests and skills further, we even discovered that we shared our alma mater – The Mayo College. The excitement to learn and apply my skills to ongoing projects further helped me get this internship. Thus, right at the beginning of my career, I understood the importance of networking and putting myself out there. 

Tip: Several other groups, such as Network Capital, allow you to post your interests along with a brief comment about your readiness to work. Putting yourself out there in a sea of experts can be intimidating, but we must remember that, for them, we are young and confident leaders who are go-getters and aren’t scared to grasp for prospective opportunities in their sights.

What Does The Internship Entail?

My internship at the Big Red Group is class-leading. It allows me the freedom to apply myself to everything and anything that I’m excited to learn. With no limits to the role, it makes the experience wholesome and exciting than most niche internships offered at other places. A typical day in my life would consist of researching; working with the marketing and the social media team, ideating, and most importantly meeting super cool leaders in different fields during our various workshops and programmes. With this internship, I understood the challenges and goals that a young company has to go through to capture a market. 

Tip: Internships give you the opportunity to discover and explore everything you can in a professional setting. Remember, now that you’re being treated like an adult, it’s time for you to take responsibility for yourself! Furthermore, no one will come up to you and ask you what new tasks you like to take on. So, be straightforward and speak for yourself!

Best Part Of My Day?

With all the work being online during the ongoing pandemic, the camaraderie of sharing common office space has inevitably gone for a toss. However, things are different at the Big Red Group. With fresh jokes and energized spirits, the morning briefings are undoubtedly the best part of my day. 

What Difficulties Do I Face?

I believe that one of the recurring issues I experience, after interning for more than six months, is prioritising. Work will often come at you from all directions, which can be overwhelming. As a result, I recommend keeping a tracker and prioritising your tasks so no matter how late you are, you are on time for your next deadline.

Advice For Future Interns?

  • Take risks. Try something new. 

  • Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

  • Keep an open mind and positive attitude.

  • Always take initiative in everything that you do.

  • Make a log of anything new which you have learnt at the end of each day of internship.

  • Talk to new people and make connections, be it managers, seniors or fellow interns.

To sum up my experience at the Big Red Group, it was simply wholesome. Lastly, It makes me extremely happy to see young high school students interning and learning under the supervision of our team – led by Rishi, Khushboo, and Nimish – at such an early stage in their professional lives!

The Big Red Group and our Ivy Early Entrepreneur Program

In our entrepreneurial workshop – Ivy Early Entrepreneur, students go through the process of business development and leave the entrepreneur program having completed a business model canvas, competitive analysis, financial model, minimum viable product, and a pitch deck.

Students get an opportunity to learn from successful entrepreneurs who are alumni of reputed universities and are experts in their respective industries.

These experts serve as coaches guiding students through the processes of developing a business concept. Risk-Taking, Decision Making, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Communication &

Storytelling, Design Thinking & Innovation, and Opportunity Recognition are a few of the key learning areas of our program.

On successfully completing the entrepreneur workshop, the guaranteed internship will be extended to all the students within our partner firms and with most of the mentors teaching the program. Students will be provided with a certificate of participation by The Big Red Group. This certificate can be used for your college portfolio.

Ivy Early Entrepreneur

11th – 17th Jan 2022

Idea Generation | Market Research | Design Thinking | Pitching

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blog Internship | 4min Read

6 Ridiculous Internship Myths That Everyone Needs To Debunk

Published on July 26, 2021

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6 Ridiculous Internship Myths That Everyone Needs To Debunk

Most students know that an internship can be a valuable boost to their resume and a great way to make professional contacts, but there are several myths around these positions. You must’ve heard all the ones listed, I’m sure: Interns just have to fetch coffee for their seniors; their time is not paid; their colleagues and supervisors treat them poorly. Instead of allowing you to keep up with such misunderstandings, I’m here to debunk these rumors as an intern myself.

  1. Myth 1: You Can’t Get An Internship As A High School Student.
  2. Myth 2: You Should Only Take An Internship In The Field You Want To Pursue.
  3. Myth 3: You’ll Be Getting Coffee All Day Long.
  4. Myth 4: You Should Intern At An Established Company
  5. Myth 5: All Interns Are Either Unpaid Or Poorly Paid
  6. Myth 6: Internships Always Happen During The Summer.

Myth 1: You Can’t Get An Internship As A High School Student.

Reality: Interns today are hired by their passion and willingness to work. You just have to dig and find one! I know that today, even getting an internship requires some amount of experience. Luckily, you can get that through working under the same department that you wish to work under at non-profits that are more than willing to have you on board. Once you acquire that skill, you’re as good as any other college-level intern, to apply. At the Big Red Group, I see it happening every day and hence, I couldn’t disagree with this myth more.

Myth 2: You Should Only Take An Internship In The Field You Want To Pursue.

Reality: Interning in unrelated fields just adds to your skillset and prepares you for a wider range of tasks. More often than not, sticking to this mindset wouldn’t let you discover your true potential or passion. Many a time, we come across tasks that we did not expect to have an interest in. However, on getting our hands dirty with them, we find them to be more enjoyable than any other task, hence, discovering our new interests. Moreover, if you’re a budding entrepreneur, this acquired skill range of yours would come in handier than any other when you’re starting out and you’re your own strategist and marketeer at the same time.

Myth 3: You’ll Be Getting Coffee All Day Long.

Reality: Long gone are those days! Interns today work toe to toe with full-time employees, often bagging a permanent place for themselves. In the beginning, Interns might do beginner-level tasks, but that is only when they’re needed to go through it to require essential skills for an intermediate task. As an intern at the Big Red Group, I get to partake in tasks and activities which are far from beginner level. This also encourages me to put in extra efforts to learn skills of higher levels faster, helping me participate more.

Myth 4: You Should Intern At An Established Company

Reality: Interns working at start-ups or small businesses have shown to have gained more skills and hands-on experience than those working at big companies and sticking to their niche. Having worked at a start-up as well as an established company, I can assure you that employees learn more while they’re connected to a start-up. The reason being, with a smaller team, you get to work on possibly everything in any department and have to go through a much more rigorous process which gives you a steeper learning curve. On the contrary, at bigger companies, due to a big number of employees, you only get to contribute to a very specific niche, hence hindering your overall growth.

Myth 5: All Interns Are Either Unpaid Or Poorly Paid

Reality: With increasing awareness, the trend of unpaid internships has started coming to an end around the world, with companies offering highly competitive stipends along with many other cool perks. Of course, this also involves an aspect of an essential skill, which is that of negotiating. In any profession, you’ll encounter several points where you have to come to a middle ground that is beneficial to both parties. In such cases, you put your skills to use and portray yourself as an invaluable candidate that the employee needs.

Myth 6: Internships Always Happen During The Summer.

Reality: There are year-round opportunities for internships. The “Summer Internships” offered by many big names make it seem like they’re the only set of opportunities available to the students. On the contrary, around the rest of the year, fewer students are looking for internships and succeeding more due to the lower competition rate.  

Overall, there’s no point in wasting time assuming the many obstacles you might encounter while interning. Instead, get up, find an internship, and discover the truth for yourself!

The Big Red Group and our Ivy Early Entrepreneur Program

In our entrepreneurial workshop – Ivy Early Entrepreneur, students go through the process of business development and leave the entrepreneur program having completed a business model canvas, competitive analysis, financial model, minimum viable product, and a pitch deck.

Students get an opportunity to learn from successful entrepreneurs who are alumni of reputed universities and are experts in their respective industries.

These experts serve as coaches guiding students through the processes of developing a business concept. Risk-Taking, Decision Making, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Communication &

Storytelling, Design Thinking & Innovation, and Opportunity Recognition are a few of the key learning areas of our program.

On successfully completing the entrepreneur workshop, the guaranteed internship will be extended to all the students within our partner firms and with most of the mentors teaching the program. Students will be provided with a certificate of participation by The Big Red Group. This certificate can be used for your college portfolio.

Ivy Early Entrepreneur

11th – 17th Jan 2022

Idea Generation | Market Research | Design Thinking | Pitching

Learn More

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blog Internship | 3min Read

Internships For High School Students: Benefits and Guide

Published on June 24, 2021

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Internships For High School Students: Benefits and Guide

For high school students, finding internships can be a daunting task.. Wait, is it even possible to get an internship without any prior job experience? Yes, indeed, it is!

Several companies and organizations provide internships to high school students, even those who do not have much experience.

However, do internships help you? Are they worth the effort and energy? Let’s take a look at how internships benefit you and how you can score them as well!

Internship For High School Students & Their Benefits:

  1. Internships add a lot more significance to your college application because it showcases your work ethic and determination to get tasks done.

  2. Paid internships are also a great way for students to earn along with studying. NGOs hire student interns and volunteers as well.

  3. Heard of “Remote internships” yet? Remote internships help you build essential personality traits such as self-discipline and self-motivation. Online internships for high school students are offered by a variety of companies to help students develop planning, execution, and organizational skills.

  4. High school internships give you a brief introduction and peeks into what your career might look like in the future.

  5. In case you are not sure about your career choice, you can explore different career paths through internships.

  6. Interning will also give you an insight into the lifestyle of your employers and how your future might look working in the same field.

  7. It helps you learn several essential skills like time management, communication skills and how to work in a team.

  8. Internships are a more productive way to utilise your time, therefore they are best suited for summer breaks and term breaks.

In short, internships are incredibly beneficial, not just for your college application but for your growth as well.

The main question is how to get those internships. Here is a short guide to doing so,

  1. Do your research- The most crucial step is to do your research, figure out where your interests lie, find companies that work towards a similar goal or in a similar field. Students can ask their teachers for help as well.

  2. Update/Build your resume- Having a resume as a high school student might sound odd, but you must have an overview before applying for internships. However, if you cannot find anything to put in the resume, do not send a blank pdf with just your name and school. Make sure the resume or application reflects your personality.

  3. Mail the companies- Often, companies do not have internship application forms on their website. This is why you must email them. If they have internship forms on their website, you can apply through that. However, that is not always the case. In such cases, you can send them an email. The email must include your name, education, a brief introduction (like your interest, hobbies, etc.), your resume, the position you want to apply for, or the field you want to work in (for example, graphic designing, content creation, marketing, etc.) Apart from this, there are several other sites and apps which help you come in contact with the companies for internships, like Intershala, Glassdoor, etc.

Overall, it might be troublesome to find internships or companies that accept high school students as interns. However, it is achievable. These three steps are just the umbrella steps for the entire application process.

Just remember not to take too much pressure or you will burn yourself out!

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blog Internship | 4min Read

How Internship Can Help Your Future

Published on September 17, 2020

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How Internship Can Help Your Future

Think about starting a new job without knowing the first thing about what you will be doing.  Now imagine a position where you have had an opportunity to work in the field and gain firsthand knowledge.  That is what an internship can do for you.

Finding an internship means that you will get to work in the field and learn on the job from someone who already has experience.

Real-Life Experience

An internship means that you can get some real-life experience in your chosen field.  Gaining this experience gives you a chance to build your skill set, gain knowledge, and use the theoretical practice you have been studying.  Education and knowledge are two different things.  In essence, you get an education to go out into the work world, and once out in the work world, you gain your knowledge.

An internship can give you a feel for what a particular job is like and whether you enjoy it.  It allows you to work in an industry or at a company to get a sense of whether it is a good fit for you.

If it does not turn out to be a fit, you have still gained experience doing something new, which is beneficial.  It is even more useful if you can get an internship in a new environment.  Moving to a new community means that you will be gaining exposure to new people and possibly new surroundings.

An internship will give you some experience in the professional world without the same stress and pressure associated with a full-time career.

Opportunity For Self-Introspection

Doing something out of your everyday routine will also give you the chance to learn more about yourself.  Working in a new environment will enable you to learn about your goals and ambitions and reach them.

An internship also helps you to determine if you are on the right career path.  Sometimes you may have an idea in mind of what you want to do, but when you get there, your expectations are not met.

Doing an internship allows you to decide if you have made the right career choice or if there may be something more suited to your abilities and interests.

Develop Your Professional Network

Maybe you will love your internship and be happy with the choices you have made.  Even before you finish school, working in the field will help you build your network and mingle with others in the profession.

Networking is an essential step in the career world.  When you do an internship, try to meet as many people as possible and always act professionally.  You never know who you may encounter and how it could help to advance your future career. 

Make Your Name Known

When you have the opportunity to do an internship, it is putting your name out there.  Having your name known is an excellent way to ensure that you get past the first step when applying for jobs in the future.

When a company receives resumes for a posting, they need a process to weed them out and only look at the best.  If you have an opportunity to make your name known ahead of time, this will help when it is time to submit applications for jobs.

Often, the person who is screening the resumes will look to experience to see what you have to offer in the field and how much practical experience you have.  Even if you are new to the job search, if you have had an internship, it means you have experience!

 You can highlight what tasks and projects you did as an intern and how you can offer value to the company on your resume.

The Transition

It can be hard to gain employment immediately, but being an intern gives you a head start.  Companies will often hire interns in the future for full-time postings.

The company has already invested in you, so if you show that you are capable and indispensable, you may get a permanent job following the internship.

Professional Feedback

Doing an internship is also a great way to gain some feedback on your performance.  Though you will learn theory in the classroom, it is different than applying it to real-life situations.

Take constructive criticism and learn from it so that you can improve your skills for your current and future endeavours.  If you are open and willing to learn, you will gain a lot from participating in an internship.

You will gain experience in the industry, and you will learn how to be better.  Working gives you an advantage over people who have not taken part in an internship opportunity.

The Impact

Having an internship will have a significant impact on your future career.  If it is not a paid internship, you still get the experience and other benefits.  If paid, it allows you to use the money to further your learning through professional development opportunities.

Do not discount an internship if it does not pay; the long term payoff is what you seek.  And any experience that you can get will look great on your resume.

The India Skills Report 2019 states, “Internship is not the only factor that determines employability, but it is a critical factor.”

The report discusses the importance of being able to unlearn some things and then re-learn them.  It will be an essential skill to keep updated on the latest developments in the chosen field.  Being an intern can help to teach this skill much more effectively than classroom learning.

The Bottom Line

Taking an internship will help you to achieve your goals and reach your highest potential!

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