5 Easy Ways To Balance Your Internship With School And Work

By Victoria Robertson on March 18, 2015

This article is brought to you by Dream Careers, the largest global internship program for college students offering all-inclusive programs in 11 cities worldwide. To learn more about Dream Careers, please visit us at SummerInternships.com.

Many of us have an innate fear that we are spreading ourselves too thin; while we know that internship experience looks great on job applications, we also feel the pressures of working a part-time job while balancing class schedules.

It may seem impossible, but there are actually several ways in which you can successfully balance your work schedule with the internships you pick up as well as a full course load.

1. Prioritize

Before you tack on another obligation, take a look and see what will be important to you in the future as opposed to what is important to you right now. Ranking your work experiences in order of importance is essential to balancing everything you’re taking part in.

While you should always be giving your best work in everything that you do, you also need to make sure that your priorities are straight so you understand what is important for your future (career or graduate school).

2. Stick To A Schedule

This is probably the most important thing to do when attempting to balance everything all at once. Without scheduling ahead, it becomes so much easier to fall behind and slack off in one or multiple of your commitments.

The best way to do this is to mark up a calendar with due dates, your work schedule and internship obligations all in one. This way, you can visualize what your commitments are and plan out how much time it will take to fulfill the different tasks you have to do. If some weeks are busier than others, you can plan on days to work ahead, etc.

While it may look overwhelming while it’s all written out, it comes in handy when trying to plan ahead for family vacations or school breaks.

3. Don’t Overdo It

While tacking on numerous internships and working part-time might sound like a good idea, there is also the possibility that it can all backfire and take a toll on your schoolwork as well. Don’t get me wrong, the more you are able to do the better, but we all have breaking points, and it’s important that you understand where yours is.

If you enjoy having a full workload all the time, then by all means, continue filling up your schedule with whatever you can. Just don’t let your internship and work experiences override the quality of your schoolwork, as education is going to matter above all else.

4. Take Time For Yourself

It doesn’t all need to be work with no play. In fact, it shouldn’t be. College is supposed to be the time of our lives, and while it’s important to make the most of it in terms of work, it’s just as important to make the most of it socially.

So go out, make friends and have fun when you get the chance. If you have to, schedule times to go out and do things around your obligations; while having fun may not seem imperative to your future goals, it is what will keep you sane as you continue working throughout your college career.

Without the little breaks you allow yourself (even if this only means watching a few hours of your favorite shows on TV), you’re going to burn out real quick and find yourself lacking the motivation to do any work at all.

5. Don’t Be Afraid Of Communication

It may not always seem like it, but our bosses and teachers are actually there to help. If you ever feel overly stressed or are fearful that you will miss a deadline, communicate the problem to your higher up.

Communication is always key in whatever you do, and allowing the workload to overwhelm you until you fall flat isn’t going to look great. If you look ahead and realize you’ve agreed to do too much, talk to someone about it and let them know. Odds are they’d be happy to help you or come up with alternative work more beneficial to your busy schedule.

So long as you are continuously communicating with those around you, falling behind isn’t going to make or break you.

There are so many ways in which you can balance all of your obligations, and these are just a few of the most basic. Juggling multiple jobs, internships and classes all at once is no easy task, and most people will commend you for the attempt as well.

So try and keep your head above water, because I promise it’s going to pay off in the end.

Looking for a top internship in an exciting city? Enroll in Dream Careers and guarantee yourself an internship and a fun summer in your choice of 11 cities globally. To visit our website, please click here.

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