Creative Internship

Internships are very important when you look at them for what they are. An opportunity. But internships are the easiest way for anyone to screen something else which is equally important: people's attitudes towards opportunities. And this is valid not only for the people having interns but also for the interns themselves.

Opportunities are not occasional. I know the essential definition of an opportunity is something in the way of "an unexpected events which occurs and opens a new path of action which may lead to positive results" BUT one big mistake we make is to wait for opportunities and assume that they will always be "special, unexpected, opening up something wonderful". Opportunities are everything we do. They are not occasional but they are ordinary and how we choose to deal with them transforms them into THE OPPORTUNITY versus just something that happened.

It works pretty much the same with internships and trying to be a creative intern. You walk into an agency and expect them to give you a shot. You look for the opportunity. But all you get thrown at is stupid research, running errands, filling out forms no one wants to fill in, or simply getting ignored. And here is where opportunity radar kicks in: you either choose to be bored, annoyed and irritated at the stupidity of it all OR you choose to see an opportunity in getting coffee.
Malcolm Gladwell makes a point in "Outliers" that there is no such thing as exceptional people but simply people who, when put in the right context, know how to make the most of their talents. Some people are lucky in that they understand they are in the right context. With internships, you are ALWAYS in the right context because you are smack in the middle of where you want to be. So, think that opportunities are everywhere and if you think your OPP radar is a bit off simply try to do something special anytime you are given the chance.