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13 Notable Internship Problems and their Solutions

Naturally, finally landing a great internship should be the end of your worries but it’s never always the end. As much as we hate to do this, it’s important that you know that the end of your search for an internship placement is the beginning of a new set of problems.

However, this shouldn’t leave you panicking. We got you. We do. Whether you have landed that internship job, about to or preparing to apply, this will be helpful to you. We have made a list of some internship problems and their solutions to help you get through it all.

Internship problems hit very hard especially when you have high expectations and are unaware that there will be problems. You become frustrated when your expectations are cut short or some other challenges arose. It will be your first time in such environment and you are yet to become familiar with the new lifestyle and work ethics.

However, not every intern faces these challenges. A few numbers could be lucky enough to have a smooth run but this is usually rare. Even so, it is safer to be aware of the problems encountered during internship to help you out if they ever occur to you or someone you know.

We have made a list of common internship challenges and solution below.

Internship Problems and Solutions

  • Problem 1: Not Being Assigned Enough Work

As surprising as it may sound to some people, one of the problems encountered during ojt is not being assigned enough work.

As an intern, you expect you’d be given loads of work to do to expand your knowledge but the reality for many is that they don’t get enough. Eventually, they become bored, unproductive and underutilized and begin to feel low.

Solution:

The easiest way to solving this internship problem is by talking to your senior employees. Although this could be embarrassing sometimes especially when you have to do this talk over and over again and nothing is being done.

But anyway, talk! Help with their projects if you can. Ask them questions about your field – after all, it is what you are there to do; to learn! Try to find where you could fit in. Who knows, they might get you onboard on their long term projects. Additionally, you get to build a connection with them.

  • Problem 2: Too Much Work

Yes, you heard that right. This is one of the most common problems encountered in ojt. You find that you are being given more work than required and this happens when your workplace decides to take advantage of you as an intern.

There is supposed to be a balance between over working, and not being assigned any task during internship trainings. However, some interns get too much work and end up getting tired and exhausted at the end of every day and this gradually ruins their internship experience.

Solution:

This is not the time to complain. What you can do in this case is to calm yourself and think of this as an extra way to learn and get prepared for your career. Have your long-term career goals clearly in mind. This can ease of the frustration and exhaustion.

  • Internship Problem 3: Unnoticed Work

An0ther problem encountered during internship which can be heartbreaking is not being noticed at work. We can all almost completely admit that people find joy in their fields of work and other places when their work is recognized.

The motivation to do well dies when the recognition doesn’t come. This is the same in internships too. As an intern, you might be doing great but feel less appreciated when your work is unnoticed, and this can be greatly discouraging.

Solution:

This internship problem can be solved by the intern understanding and keeping in mind that hard work doesn’t go neglected for a long time. It is to believe that someone is watching and perseverance can do a lot for you.

If you are in this position right now, take it from us that you won’t continue to be overlooked if you persevere and continue on your good work.

  • Internship Problem 4: Having Competitive Co-interns

Most times, you may realize that your co-interns are doing too much and trying to outdo you. This is another one of the many challenges of internship.

In some cases, it might just be them being hardworking and high-spirited, or trying to get noticed. However, this can get you intimidated sometimes especially when you didn’t expect that your internship will be a competitive one.

Solution:

This might be difficult for you to accept but by the end of your internship, you will find that competitive co-interns make your internship experience better.

When you feel the pressure to work, you’ll find that you learn more than you would have without the competition. We recommend you take part in the competition and work towards doing great works everyday. You’d be surprised how this will enrich your internship experience.

  • Internship Problem 5: Having Issues with Time Management / Self-Management

Another huge problem encountered in ojt is time management. It is likely your first experience at a job and you’re yet to adapt to the new changes in your lifestyle and the work conditions and environments. This is unlike college where your lateness to classes and assignment submissions were tolerated.

This makes you frustrated. You feel you are not good enough or not trying enough, and this might also be problem encountered during internship report. Here’s a solution to this;

Solution:

You should have it in mind that this is not something you can learn easily – just like forming a new habit. Self and time management can be achieved only through forming new habits and consciously adopting a better organized life. Make conscious efforts to work on this problem and watch it form into a new habit.

  • Internship Problem 6: Having Supervisors Who Forget That You’re New to the Field

OMG! This is one of the worse challenges interns face. Having a supervisor who completely forgets you are new and always require that things be explained to you can be frustrating. They assign projects to you and leave you without detailed explanations and still expect you to do a great job.

Solution

In this case, there’s no two ways about it. Ask! You never go wrong by asking. Ask your supervisor when you don’t understand a thing. Just ask! For the many times it happens, just ask!

  • Internship Problem 7: You Receive Inadequate Compensation

Another problem encountered during internship is that you sign up as an intern with hopes of being well-compensated for your work, only to get started and receive inadequate compensation.

Or maybe you find out that you are doing much work than you are being compensated for. This internship problem usually hurts.

Solution:

The first thing you need to understand is that you are intern, and interns receive lesser pays than fulltime employees. This is because of the short-term contract and the learning experiences you gain.

However, if you feel like the compensation is too low and doesn’t meet your day to day expenses, you can reach out the HR to make your complaints (but try to be very humble about it).

Most times, interns are usually afraid to ask such questions but what they don’t know is that their employers are always happy to rectify issues like this. This is especially employers who value good working relationships with their workers.

  • Internship Problem 8: You are Hesitant to Ask Questions

This is usually one of the biggest problems encountered during internship. You get a good internship only to find that it is strictly professional. And as a result, asking questions become difficult for you because you fear being judged or thought dependent and self-insufficient. Trust me, I’ve been there and here’s what to do;

Solution:

Don’t be afraid of being judged. Your employees know you are an intern and will probably have loads of questions to ask. They almost always wait in expectancy.

Don’t assume something is wrong or right. Just ask questions. It is always better to write your questions down and then ask.

  • Internship Problem 9: You Receive Little or No Feedback From Your Supervisor

This is one of the most discouraging and common problems encountered in ojt. You never really get to know how great or not you are doing at your job and you are not sure what ways to go anymore.

Solution:

It is important to let your supervisor know what you hope to learn while learning under him and how much you appreciate feedbacks. Let your supervisor understand how feedbacks can help you improve your performance at work.

  • Internship Problem 10: Having an Uncooperative Supervisor

Having an uncooperative supervisor during your time as an intern can be one of the worse challenges interns face.

The amount of knowledge you gain from your internship depends primarily on your supervisor. So, if your supervisor takes you seriously and commits him/herself to helping you, you will learn as much as you can. If not, well, your guess is as good as ours.

It is the reason having an uncooperative supervisor is the top discouraging internship difficulties interns have.

Solution:

Don’t worry too much if your supervisor is uncooperative. All you can do here is to help them to help you. You can do this by always making lists of questions and doubts and conditions and ask them. This can help for most of the time.

However, when this method doesn’t help, reach out to the concerned authorities and ask for a new supervisor while stating your reasons.

  • Problem 11: When Your Work Is Not Used

Imagine burning your night candle and going through several tabs to make a research for a project and then submitting it to your supervisor and he ends up throwing it in the trash! This is one of the problems faced during internship.

There can be only a few things more frustrating than this. It kills your drive for the job and the motivation for future works and projects.

Not to worry, we have a solution to make you feel better.

Solution:

Don’t feel so frustrated. Don’t focus on the time you have wasted. Rather, think this as an accomplishment, a boost to your resume and then find a way to publish your work (written) online instead.

  • Problem 12: You are Overwhelmed With Work

Sometimes as an intern, you may feel overwhelmed with work. It may be because the company you are interning with hired lesser interns than required and as a result, it put the workload too much on the few interns hired. This is one of the common problems encountered in ojt, and you should be prepared for it.

Solution:

Most times, this comes as a result of a new lifestyle. It’s your first internship experience and you’ve never had to do much work. It might be the exact amount of work you are required to do but you won’t know this because you are yet to get familiar with it.

We will recommend you wait it out for a week or two more and see if you can readjust and adapt to this new life.

If after these times you still feel that there’s so much work than required and as a result, it is affecting your performance and personal health, reach out to a senior employer or supervisor and lay your complaints.

  • Internship Problem 13: Adapting to a New Lifestyle

Learning to adapt to a new lifestyle can be quite scary and uneasy but this is sadly one of the challenges faced during internship. You get to do away with some habits as well as adopting and forming new ones. Now you may need to wake up earlier normal, prepare breakfast or starve and then head to work.

You may be letting go of your third minutes lazy stretches on bed after you wake up by 10 am. Your favorite TV shows by afternoon and the constant hang out with friends every evening.

Well, this is not as scary and tormenting as it reads.

Solution:

While adopting this new lifestyle is a beautiful thing, don’t be tempted to make it worse. Don’t rush home to eat, and rest after work every day. Stay back to socialize with your co-interns. Make out time to hang out with them on some weekends or workdays – after work.

You might come up with the excuse of taking care of yourself. But excuse me? Taking care of yourself doesn’t only involve heading home even before tome, eating, showing and sleeping only to eat up the next day to repeat the cycle for the rest of your days at your internship.

Read also: 15 Best Paid Marketing Internships Abroad in 2023

Conclusion

Above are some common internship challenges and solution most interns face every day. However, as an intern, you may need to understand that adapting to a new place is often difficult, however, if you are patient enough, you can survive through every challenge.

Meanwhile, we hope our list helps you get through some of these internship problems. We hope you have the best time at your internship and we will really love to hear that we helped made it easy for you.

All the best.

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