💼 MNC or SME: Where should you go for internship?

There is nothing wrong with having an internship or BIG COMPANY at a SME; there are certainly lots of advantages and experience you can gain from it.🫣

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However, if you are at a cross-path to choose either a smaller start-up or a well-established big company for your internship, I would strongly advocate for you to choose the big company. 👾 Here are the reasons why:

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🔗 Networking!

Big corporate has a large number of employees around the globe. 🛩️ As the teams are bigger, you have a greater number of professionals to work and develop connections with. An internship is just the beginning of your long career; all the connections you make early on can potentially help you open doors, land jobs, get professional guidance, and mentorship during and after the internship. 🚀 To give you an example, my manager at TikTok helped me to write recommendation letter to NUS - which it eventually helps me to get the chances to take part in the interview with the NUS.

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🔗 Chance to explore different jobs:

Big companies are comprised of various departmental functions and teams (i.e. Finance, Marketing, Sales, Legal, External Affairs, HR, etc). 🏢 You can gain a big picture perspective by observing how a successful, large-sized company runs like a clock, how different functions depend on each other and work together, and how an individual’s work can impact the business. At the same time, as an intern, you can actively explore different functions and types of roles within the company. 👏🏻 For example, during my time interning in TikTok as an E-commerce category intern - I was not only get to plan and prepare for different E-Comm campaign, but I also get to work alongside my manager for key account management related tasks.

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🔗 A big name on your resume:

For many entry-level roles, lots of candidates look quite similar on their resume: all recent graduates, a few internships and co-ops here and there. 🧾 Big company names on the resume that people recognize help grab hiring managers’ attention. It is one thing that makes your resume stand out long enough for them to read the details on your resume! 🤞🏻

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🔗 Pay is better

Though I often argue that you should choose a job over pay, especially in the early stages of your career, the salary is not unimportant.

🤔 I’ve often witnessed people who started out in low-paying internships settling into lower-paying jobs because they don’t know better. Your first 9–5 job (i.e. an internship) can largely shape your perception and understanding of the industry and salaries. 🤪

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All in all, I think there are Pros and Cons to both. 🙌🏻 If you want to be an entrepreneur someday, then I think It’s better to intern at a small company. If you’d like to graduate from university & work for a large company, then I think it’s better to intern at a larger company. This will allow you to see how large corporations operate, but more importantly to understand how people within large companies work. Learning how people work in large companies is a very important skill to learn first hand especially if that is a goal after college.

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