The one where F.R.I.E.N.D.S taught you internship lessons

February 5, 2017February 16, 2017 Internshala

“Welcome to the real world! It sucks. You’re gonna love it!”

Step into the corporate world and you’ll be amazed by the turmoil and hullabaloos that come with it. The internship rules are often unsaid and unexplained. You make mistakes, learn from them, and if you are lucky, you get an awesome mentor to guide you. But for now, let’s learn some internship survival 101 from the legendary sitcom F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

1. It takes time – Let’s go back to the episodes and see how the journey started. Joey got rejected about 100 times before he landed a gig on Days of our lives (DOOL :P), Rachel worked as a waitress before discovering her love for fashion, and Monica had to wear fake boobs! Yes, it sucks initially but you gotta hang in there and keep the good work going before the tide turns to your favor.

2. Sometimes an internship is a way to go – Statistical analysis and data reconfiguration is not everyone’s cup of tea. Especially not Chandler Bing’s. He quit his high-paying job and worked as an intern before becoming a junior copywriter. Starting a career in a new field can be hard especially if you come from a different academic background. An internship, in that case, can be your classroom and work as a foundation for your career.

3. Keep your ethics intact – The amazingly weird Phoebe, one of the most offbeat characters in the series, refused to sell her smelly cat song for jingles. She sure was weird for the normal world but her ethics and her strength to adhere to them was something everyone of us needs to have.

4. Control your temper – You don’t want to lose your internship by being a short tempered person like Ross once was. You might get flustered at times, but don’t be stubborn and take the feedback in the right way. Be open minded, polite, and patient with your colleagues and bosses. Also, don’t steal from office’s common refrigerator! :)

5. Put yourself in everything you do – Ross’s love for palaeontology earned him a Ph.D., Monica’s skills made her a head chef, and Rachel’s impeccable dedication for fashion landed her a job at Ralph Lauren. These are pure examples of how putting your best efforts at what you do always pay off.

6. Express your problems – Remember the episode when Chandler’s boss kept slapping his butt? He just couldn’t make him stop until he talks to him about it. Well, that’s how it works in an office; you need to talk to the person you have issues with and explain your views.

7. Grammar is important. Learn it, please. – “Y-O-U-R means your; Y-O-U’R-E means you are”
Ross is so relatable on this one! As much as we love to use slangs and portray ourselves as cool, it’s not okay to use slangs, SMS lingos, and grammatically incorrect sentences in your internship application or official communications.

8. Don’t give up – No matter how hard the circumstances get, if you want it, never give up. Monica survived as a head chef when she was opposed by her co-workers, Ross travelled really far to teach classes, and Rachel had to help an 81-year-old woman put on a thong. In the end, use the internships to find your lobster career and mate for life.