On internship, young people should prioritise social capital over finance

This column made a case for internships and the need for some stipend for young graduates who are recruited into those positions.

One of the other benefits that internship offers those taken in to learn and serve is the opportunity to meet new people and make friends and not only increase their chances to get a job.

It is important, therefore, that while the country needs to facilitate interns with a basic stipend to meet basic needs and also inculcate a sense of independence, the youth should not make their decisions on where to take their internship based on how much money is offered.

Instead, the focus should be on the long-term vision they have and how that internship fits within those plans.

Last week we bid farewell to our final year law students at a dinner ceremony organised by themselves.

Two key themes during the night related to mentorship and exploitation. The older generation focused on the opportunities for mentorship and how the young lawyers should pick the opportunities.

For their part, the students decried the harsh treatment that older lawyers and prospective employers put them through.

It is important to bridge these two perspectives. The young people too must play their part.

As our chief guest at the above event advised in his speech, parents may unwittingly play their part by not fully preparing the youth for the life of work.

Many parents raise their children with velvet gloves, protecting them from all the realities of life.

Such children grow up expecting their parents and later on society to do everything for them. They assume that life is smooth sailing.

They, consequently, are laid back and give up at the first sign of trouble. The responsibility thereafter falls on the laps of their parents to deal with how they move on in life after that experience.

It is important that young people learn the value of social capital instead. This requires that they cultivate and sustain relationships with those that they meet in life, from their classmates to their teachers.

Their parents’ friends form a very early opportunity too. It is in the same vein that they need to view internship opportunities.

It is not the organisation that gives you the most stipend that you should be seeking to join but rather make your decision based on a variety of factors.

One of the things to consider needs to be the exposure you will get. There are places where interns are only used as free labour and kept away from learning.

However much such an organisation pays, young people should shy away from them. Instead, seek to go to places which expose you to the entire business of the organisation.

Look for mentors who recognise that they once were at your level, and thus go out of their way to help you gain the necessary contacts and experience.

Such a person will lend you his social capital and set you on a path of long-term success much more than the one who only gives you finances while denying you social connections.