This summer I've been interning for a media company, a job that perfectly combines my two loves: marketing/strategy and all things creative. Every week I'm making something, attending a brainstorming meeting, having a new idea for a narrative thrown my way. It's my dream internship.
However, there are a lot of challenges I didn't expect to face. I thought that the hardest part would be finding an opportunity like this in the first place. It's all supposed to be perfect after that, right? Nailing down your dream internship is ultimately an incredible thing, but there are some complex struggles you won't see coming.
1. You will doubt yourself. A lot.
This internship is a big deal. This feels like the perfect fit. This is a business or organization that embodies what I love to do and actually pays people for it. I feel like I belong. But what if I don't? What if I'm not good enough?
There is something about taking your passion into a professional environment that makes you doubt what you're capable of, and this doubt can be pretty powerful. You may even ask yourself if this is what you're supposed to be doing.
Stop right there. Be aware of your doubt and confront it. Everyone experiences it, arguably more so when they're doing what they love. It might not go away, but it doesn't have to control you, and you can achieve greatness in spite of it.
2. Everyone will be "better" than you.
This one is obvious. You're the intern. You'e learning. Of course everyone is going to be more experienced and seemingly "better" than you. But sometimes in the heat of your work it's hard to see that, and it's hard to give yourself grace in your time of growth.
When it's your dream internship, the standards you set for yourself are likely much higher. You want to operate on the same level as people that have been working there for years, and it's hard to remember you can't always do that (and people probably don't expect you to). Strive for excellence, but cut yourself some slack when you fail. You're allowed to make a mistake every once in a while.
3. You'll get stuck.
There have been mornings where I've come to work and not been all that excited. I know that seems impossible when we're talking about a dream internship, but it happens. Work is work. No matter how much you love it, it will still feel like work sometimes, and that's okay.
This is especially hard to deal with when your internship requires you to be creative. If the ideas aren't coming, if you aren't feeling it, if there's a disconnect, it's hard not to blame yourself for it. But it happens. It just happens. And you being an intern doesn't mean you're not allowed to feel it, just like the rest of your co workers.
4. You'll need to recharge.
When I started my internship my first instinct was to dive into this opportunity head first and at full speed. I was eager to pick up any spare task and add as much value as I possibly could. You will likely overload yourself at some point because as the intern, it feels like that's what you're supposed to do to impress everyone.
You'll need a break every once in a while. There comes a point every once in a while where I feel like I can't do good work for some reason. I've found that it's usually because I need to take a break. After a three day weekend, I feel like I can do so much more. My brain is fresh, I have better ideas, I feel less sluggish, and I am over all more productive. If your internship allows you to give yourself that time to recharge, take it! Or at the very least, take full advantage of your weekends.
5. You will love it...maybe too much
Doesn't sound like a challenge, right? Well it is when you still have 3 more years of college to go. My co workers always joke about me dropping out of school so I don't have to go back to school in August. They're just jokes, but when you are doing work you really love, it makes you think "Do I really need school?"
It's a challenge to stay motivated to learn and improve when you can see the finish line so clearly. My experience at my dream internship, at times, has made me wish I could fast forward through the rest of college and just get on to the important stuff already. But college is the important stuff. .
The dream internship is worth it, but the struggle is real. Even the best opportunities in life are hard, but that's kind of the point. Internships, especially dream internships, are supposed to challenge you. I may not have seen it coming, but I know I am 100% better off because I've faced these unexpected challenges.
