Internships gave me the confidence that I can earn with an arts degree
About the author: Subalakshmi Murugesan is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in English from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. She started doing internships during the pandemic to overcome the feeling of isolation. She shares how this turned her into a more confident individual and helped her explore different career paths for English literature students.
I came across Internshala during the pandemic when I was yearning to do something productive. The academics had taken a backseat, and everyone was more focused on extracurricular. I would scroll through LinkedIn and Instagram and see people accomplishing things, which would make me feel left out. So I turned to Internshala with one goal in my mind – to do something in my life.
Since I had no previous experience, I did not have any expectations and applied to all the opportunities I thought I could contribute to. Being an English literature student, I applied for internships in content writing and editing. Apart from this, I was also curious about teaching, so I applied for those roles too. There were a number of companies that were hiring for these roles on Internshala, which was not the case for other platforms. The best part was that they were paid internships! Being a student, my friends and I were victims of unpaid internships circulated on other platforms. Some were internships under the guise of a scam where they asked us to pay them! That’s why discovering Internshala was nothing less than unearthing treasure minus the dirt and grime.
The process for applying to all internships was easy and professional. I just had to answer 2 – 3 questions about my qualifications, interests, and availability. After reviewing my profile, the companies reached out to me via chat. Most of the companies assigned me a task to complete and conducted an online interview.
My first internship was as a content writer at Adwaita Educare. During this time, I wrote blogs related to child education that talked about the role of psychology in understanding how children learn. Since psychology was one of the subjects I had studied in my second year at college, this turned out to be a pleasant experience. Moreover, the work culture was great. We had weekly meetings wherein my mentors asked me how I felt about working at the company. There was not a lot of work pressure, and I was paid well. My next internship was at Lawbank. My responsibility here comprised creating questions for an app that they were making. After this internship ended, I did a creative writing internship at Girlmantra. They were about to launch a website and needed content for the same. So I had to write a werewolf story, which was so much fun that it did not even feel like work!
Currently, I am interning as an editor at Lapsus Creations. I review poem submissions and edit them, and write blogs on literature. Other than this, I am also doing a teaching internship at Blackboard Radio. I have to listen to English recordings made by students and correct any grammatical or pronunciation errors.
I have learned tremendously from all these experiences. Being a student pursuing English literature, my learning is confined to the four bleak walls of the classroom. These internships helped me explore my fullest potential and step out into the practical world despite the world being shut off from me during this pandemic. They honed my writing skills in an environment that was peaceful and relaxed. After all, all my internships were remote, so I was learning and earning from the comfort of my couch. It improved my communication skills, taught me to meet deadlines, and turned me into a more confident person. My resume which was empty is now full of internship experiences. My only regret? I should have applied earlier!
Do you feel inspired by Subalakshmi’s story and want to start interning too? Then, simply register on Internshala and start applying for the internships matching your interests!
