This is one of the many situations that many companies encounter when accepting student interns. A company director said that students are very confident but should not have illusions about their own abilities and professional capacity.

Students have weak skills but many requirements

"I made an appointment for the student to come to the company for an interview to evaluate his ability before accepting him for an internship, but after waiting for two hours, the student did not show up and did not respond with a reason," said Mr. Nguyen Minh Triet, director of Kich Ban Viet Company, about the situation he just encountered.

Mr. Triet said that this was not an isolated case. Many interns have very poor communication skills and "delusions of power" about themselves.

Some students, when they started their internship, asked the company to provide job descriptions so they could choose the most suitable position for them. Some students only accepted an internship as a film editor, not doing any other work. Some students asked how much the internship salary was...

Similarly, Ms. N. - director of a media company with offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City - said that the company accepts three batches of interns each year. "In reality, many students have too many illusions about their careers and are weak in communication skills," Ms. N. said.

According to Ms. N., many students send blank emails asking for internships, sending them to many companies without doing any research beforehand. When the company responds with an interview appointment, they do not respond or arrive late for the scheduled time. Some students disappear after the interview and are not contacted again. Not to mention that students choose to do internships instead of following the company's arrangements.

"It is the lack of professionalism when approaching practical work. When coming to the internship, many students directly raised the issue of salary. The salary they proposed was 8 to 10 million VND/month.

Demanding salary is not unreasonable if you can do the job. If you do a good job in 1 or 2 weeks of internship, you can negotiate a more reasonable salary. However, you do not have any professional experience, so what basis do you have to demand salary? The company will support the cost for interns, but it is not the same salary as official employees. It seems that you are having illusions about your career" - Ms. N. said.

Be humble and learn

Sharing more about student internships, Ms. N. said that students need to determine that each stage will have a different focus. When doing an internship, it is also about learning knowledge and gaining practical experience. Students should do their best according to their abilities. Confidence, humility and willingness to learn are essential qualities for interns.

"Many students' profiles state that they have work experience, department head, project manager... When asked in reality, these are projects and leadership positions of clubs in the school. Clearly stating the work done and title is also good for the company to know how energetic you are.

However, many students confuse school practice with work experience, between club titles and real life. School assignments and real client projects are very different" - Ms. N. shared more.

Sharing this view, Mr. Triet said that questioning and asking questions is good, but students also need to know where the limits are.

"When you go for an internship, the company must arrange a mentor and will support the cost if you can do the job. It is an opportunity for you to learn from reality and you also need to know many things, not just do the work you have strengths or desire," said Mr. Triet.

Mr. Triet also added that internships are not only about learning, experiencing and doing the actual work you have learned. You will also learn many other skills such as teamwork, work management, and learning things outside of your major. So try to learn from your seniors, from real-life observations, and from experiences when working together.