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An Intern’s Survival Guide: Chapter Two

Published: Mar 17, 2021

 Career Readiness       Internships       Interviewing       Job Search       Networking       Workplace Issues       
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Global Companies in the ‘20s

Welcome to chapter two of our Intern Survival Guide! We’ve already gone over how to build your launchpad and get set for your own awesome journey, and now it’s time to talk a little more about the way global industries are shaping up in the 2020s. Are you thinking about where you’re going to make your impact, and how? Then these eight tips will be sure to get you on the right path!

One: Coronavirus has changed everything

COVID-19’s effect on our wellbeing will eventually be inoculated against, but its cultural influences on trade and business are here to stay. For example, with work-at-home becoming a widespread norm, employees and managers alike questioned the value of cramped offices that require extensive commutes, are expensive to lease and live near, and the legitimate need for those spaces for meetings or conferences. Company leadership at the world’s largest firms is confronted with a forced experiment in workplace distancing, which appears to be endorsing the perspectives of business researchers: that time out of the office leads to greater satisfaction, productivity, and performance. Don’t be surprised if working at a global business in the future is less about your geographic location and more about how well you connect with the communicative ethos of that company.

Two: The future is in Asia

Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka are home to just some of the many booming economies across Asia. Certainly, established high-development nations such as Korea and Japan provide the world with a suite of well-known companies and products. But it’s the gargantuan India and Indonesia markets which don’t just produce an enormous stream of increasingly valuable goods but also need to import massive quantities of machinery, minerals, and food to continue its remarkable climb to worldwide recognition. If you’re looking for a job that’s all about latching onto break-neck growth, Asia or Asia-facing businesses are the way to go.

Three: Global companies meet global needs

There’s a reason IT and tech startups rule the waves these days: everyone needs a digital means for their digital ends. When you’re searching for an organization that’s connected with your principles, don’t be afraid to question how their work impacts the world. Whether it’s wrapping your head around consulting firms and their business models or the latest web platform out of Silicon Valley, if you’re serious about working as a part of a collective you’re only going to be better placed for success if you know what they do, why, and how you’re going to make what they do even more valuable.

Four: Diversity has never mattered more

An inclusive workplace means new ideas from different people. As the west moves away from manufacturing and towards service-based industries, understanding and connecting with human beings will only become more important. It may not be groundbreaking for any particular company to have programs in place that emphasize its team’s diversity – but it doesn’t take much researching to find those international corporations which really push the envelope on trade are led by a variety of thinkers, speakers, and advocates.

Five: Climate change will transform our work

If you think the impact Coronavirus has had was tough, just you wait – whether it’s about controlling, responding to, or preparing for climate change, entire industries and governments alike are going to only continue to focus more and more on addressing the looming climate threat. This will penetrate every workforce and become the greatest challenge of this generation. If you’re looking to be a part of some larger organization’s work, be prepared to learn more and work around the environmental concerns of the corporate leadership and your future clientele.

Six: Your future job probably doesn’t exist yet

As blue-collar and service jobs become further automated (and as climate change becomes crucial to business concerns!), you can expect that your future employer will look very different from the world of work that belonged to our forefathers. Expertise in simplicity, teleservices, human-machine management, upcycling, and cybersecurity are amongst the most exciting jobs of tomorrow. Whether or not you’re pursuing employment in a technical field, reading up on transformations in the industry will be worthwhile – one day, sooner or later, these ‘future’ jobs will be in the present!

Seven: Don’t underestimate soft skills

You will quickly learn that major corporations value workers that are easy to communicate with; that is satiated in their roles and flourish alongside their colleagues. Do you want to not only be picked for a gig, but snowball that into something remarkable? Learn and practice your soft skills. That’s your public speaking, your conflict-resolving, brainstorming, inclusivity, curiosity, team management, project management, and malleability. Learn from every experience where you perform any of the above and remember them for big interviews where you’ll be called upon to demonstrate your prowess. Your practical talents needn’t be all you can offer – for every ten hostile geniuses there is one brilliant compassionate person, and you want to be that rare glimmer that every company is fighting over to employ.

Eight: Global business means global recognition

There’s a lot to like about being able to strike out on your own: the speed at which things move, the revenue that could accompany your success, and indeed the ability to be the master of one’s fate. But these factors are reliant on you having the expertise, capital, and space to realize your dream. With the right mindset and attitude, you won’t just learn from a job in a major company – you might even be able to gain support from its senior operators to realize your dream as a partner or as a supported venture. Bigger businesses move slower, but there are safety and reflection in that slowness and you’re going to need that foundational strength to make your unique impact in life. Approach applications to global companies with optimism, a vision, and a plan. If you speak your truth, the worst that can happen is you know you’re going to find better support elsewhere.


Infosys InStep is Vault's Best Internship of 2021. This internship program also ranks No. 1 across many of our Best Internships of 2021 categories, including Best Internships for Diversity, Diversity with Respect to Women, LGBTQ+ Diversity, Racial & Ethnic Diversity, Quality of Life, Compensation & Benefits, Computer Science, and more. For a complete list of the program's rankings, visit the Infosys Instep Vault profile.

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