Reasons why Singaporean students race for internships

Singapore The pressure to find a job or build a personal brand on social media has turned internships into a race among students.

Channel NewsAsia reported on July 25 that Jervis Chan, an excellent graduate of the Computer Science major at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), completed eight consecutive internships in his four and a half years of university.

In the context of a volatile labor market, Chan and many Singaporean students flock to do internships, even in many places at the same time, in the hope of finding good jobs.

However, this pressure is also influenced by a number of reasons:

LinkedIn changes the job search game

Singaporean universities have long valued the importance of internships as a way for students to gain insights into the outside world and gain real-world experience.

Singapore Management University, Nanyang Technological University considers internship as a compulsory degree requirement for all undergraduate students.

However, the pressure to get many internships and gain experience at big companies partly comes from LinkedIn - a social network with more than 930 million users. Recruiters and human resource managers are using LinkedIn as a tool to find talent.

Search for “internship” and you’ll see people showing off by writing thank-you notes to former mentors or colleagues. This is normal, as it’s a great place to showcase your experience, and the more the merrier. Universities even teach students how to best market themselves on LinkedIn, providing templates and guides for students to follow.

It can be said that LinkedIn is gradually changing the way of finding a job and making building a professional personal brand more important.

National University of Singapore students on graduation day. Photo: Lionel Lin — National University of Singapore students on graduation day. Photo: *Lionel Lin*

Fear of Inferiority

Comparing themselves to others' achievements is also a cause of anxiety for young people. In addition to the "fear of failure" syndrome, they also worry about being left behind when seeing others succeed.

This pushes many people into internship races with the pressure to have as many working connections as possible.

Quantity over quality

Internships help students hone their skills, explore different roles, and better plan their careers. They also connect with career counselors and like-minded people. Those who excel in their internships are often offered full-time employment.

However, not all companies are enthusiastic about mentoring students. In some places, students are asked to make coffee rather than learn skills for future jobs. Many people accept it, as long as it is something to put on their resume. They believe that in the competition for jobs, any certification helps an individual stand out from others.

This is not something that HR professionals appreciate. Students who intern at multiple places at the same time show that they do not see it as a learning experience. Therefore, students should demonstrate proficiency in industry-related skills, instead of listing long internship experiences on their resume.

Phuong Anh (According to CNA )

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