Online internship or virtual internship is a work experience program where the participant gains experience while working in a remote professional setting and is not physically present at the job location.
The students or interns communicate with their employer through social media or online conferencing platforms such as Skype, Microsoft Teams, Slack etc. even through e-mails contact can be made.
CATEGORIES OF INTERNSHIPS OFFERED
Online internship in India are not field specific. There are variety of categories in which internships are offered. From big Multinational Corporations (MNCs) to Government, Indian students have a lot of internship opportunities.
You might be a commerce student or science or arts student, still there are plenty of online internships, you can choose from. Some of the categories of internships that are available are social media head, sales and marketing intern, sales and marketing head, digital marketing intern, campus ambassador, public relations (PR), social media marketing intern, human resource (HR) intern, market research and business research intern, business development intern, entrepreneurship, brand relations manager, evangelist and so on.
Some of the other categories where proper programs and equipment or some technical know how is required are graphic designing, webpage designing, app development, UI / UX designer, content writing, data analyst, programmer, beta testing, game development, web development, videographer, animation and VFX and so on.
HOW TO FIND AN ONLINE INTERNSHIP?
There are numerous websites that offer online internships in India from various companies for different positions, such as:
After visiting a site, you can search for the internship category you are interested and have knowledge in. It is very difficult to land up with an internship in a domain, you hardly know anything of. Despite that fact, some internships offer training period in which they train interns in a particular field so that they can work efficiently for the company.
The next step is to initiate a conversation with the employer and send them your resume. If your resume is according to their standards, they will reach back to you. They can ask for any previous work experiences in the position you applied for and samples of your work. This may happen in the voice call or through a video conferencing app. Its basically a remote interview of your abilities and characteristics. Answer confidently and truthfully and it becomes way easier to be considered for the internship.
Some applications also offer internship opportunities such as Hirect, Naukri.com, Intern Bit etc. can also be of great help. Your college’s placement cell can also help as they are updated with the companies that approached the college to offer internship opportunities for their students.
PAID OR UNPAID?
This is a very debatable topic but it basically comes down to circumstances and personal preference. If you really want to earn some money while doing internship, you can look for those which offer good stipend. But, if you are someone who does not care much about the stipend and are just looking to gain some work experience in a professional environment, you can try for unpaid along with those with stipend as extra incentives are always welcomed.
But, this fact should not be forgotten that paid or unpaid, internships add weight to your CV and help in landing up with a decent job in the future. Most of the parents in India are of the mentality that their child should start earning at the earliest. It is not always possible to go against their wishes and opt for unpaid. Similarly, there is group who does not care about money and just want their children to achieve something. Parents can also play an important role in this matter.
ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE INTERNSHIPS IN INDIA
Work at your own pace – online internships provide you with some degree of freedom to work at your own pace. Of course there are deadlines to meet but you can plan your work accordingly to your priority and convenience.
Connect with people across the world – online internships open up avenues that traditional internships don’t. there are some internships which offer cooperating with people of different countries and this is only possible in online internships. You can work as an intern for foreign based company online. You are not limited or confined to seek out internships in your vicinity. You get a chance to connect and interact with people from different backgrounds and get to know them and share skills.
Can be done along side a part-time job – a lot of college students prefer part-time jobs over internships as most of them offered by big companies are usually unpaid. Online internships solves this problem. They can intern for a big company and work at the same time.
Work from home – Honestly, this is the biggest advantage. The comfort of one’s home is the best environment to work, especially for an intern who is still new to the professional environment. You can be comfortable, eat and work at the same time, wear casual clothes and much more.
Skip the travelling time – Most of the college students use public transport for travelling. Their expense is reduced along with skipping hours of tiring journey in the busy streets of India.
DRAWBACKS OF ONLINE INTERNSHIPS IN INDIA
Online internships in India lacks professionalism of the office environment and chances of job training and guidance and actually benefitting from the internship is much less than in-person. Self- learning is of higher priority. Long periods of concentrating in phone and laptop can cause eye strain or headache. It can also lead to bad posture and back pain. This results in low productivity.
