FOMO: am I the only one!
Being an intern is not an easy task especially when it’s your first
time. My experience has been very challenging as it was my first internship
ever and my first ‘job’ that I’ve ever done. Even at 21, my first interview and
internship made me freak out. I was so scared that I would not be able to
fulfil my duties as an intern. As an intern you are more likely to commit
mistakes and lack the understanding than a full-time employee; and this fear
has made me persevere and better myself beforehand. I was more apprehensive for
my interview than my internship in itself.
As an intern, I felt very awkward in the beginning, as in the firm
that I was working, there weren’t any other young staff or interns as such. The
few interns were in the finance department and not PR. On top of freaking out,
having no friends or people your same age is extremely frustrating and boring
too.
In addition to that, having a large office to yourself definitely
does not make it easier. It is like being alone by yourself most of the time,
and that kind of created a FOMO feeling. This fear of missing out concept
really got to me but then I started to enjoy my work and now I must say I kind
of miss it too. Waking up, getting ready, wearing classic and chic clothes,
travelling and working the whole day was actually an amazing experience.
However, I don’t know if its just me but I was experiencing FOMO a
lot. This preliminary phase before the internship was hectic, stressful yet exciting
too but when it comes to actually working, I started to feel that I was missing
out on something. Forasmuch I was doing the internship during my holidays, I had
this feeling that other people are having fun and travelling and I was in an
office, working on events and reports. Fear of missing out is a disease that
can take a toll on you somehow. But luckily public relations is not a 24/7 office
bound or desk clog type of job, it allows one to move and meet people. That was
one very fantastic aspect of my internship that I could be part of the events
being held or organised. Networking is what public relations practitioners seek
when they work in that sector and this opportunity has made me grow as an
individual in the work sphere.
4 comments:
Hi Deepa,
I clearly understand your situation at attending your first interview for an internship. It is the moment when you asked yourself “am I doing the right thing for being here?” or “what am I really doing here?”
I think we have had the same reaction when I attended my first interview for my first INTERNSHIP (years back). Personally I was in a stress and I was freaking out about what needs to be done during an interview.
In general, I think TIME has a great role to play! It defines the moment you are going to spend there and this will help you to adapt yourself to this new routine. It helps you to gain in maturity and experience when joining this typical world. I hope you have enjoyed your internship to the max as believe me it is an awesome experience in the end.
Cheers,
Aurelie Cotte
Hey Aurelie
Thank you so much for your comment, I am glad that you could relate because I thought i was the only clumsy intern who is so hesitant about everything. I guess this feeling of whether one is doing right by being there is so recurrent to most people. You feel very unsure of your decision and this is where the feeling of FOMO comes as you think you will be missing out on other stuff or other companies that have accepted your application. To actually decide in which company to intern at (amongst the ones that have accepted you of course) is such a tough decision. Oh yes TIME definitely plays a big role as it helps you adapt and it makes you feel more at ease and you get a feeling of familiarity also. I have enjoyed my internship and i am actually missing it right now!
Anyways thanks for reading
Looking forward to reading your posts :)
Deepa
Hello Deepa,
I can relate to what you have been through since it is not always an easy task when you practically have no experience at all! I freak out a lot too on my first day at Elite Voyage. It was a completely different outset from what I expected. New environment & new mates! The problem is that you want to integrate this working sphere without creating any undesired issues which can make you doubt of your own capabilities. You want to make a good impression; a psychological need which you always want to attain. I am glad to know you managed the situation as for some people, it can become a bad experience with accumulated stress which can really fuss things out... Its kinda crazy but challenging as you have now achieved a step further in your career. I hoped you had an enriching internship! cheers
Aviin
Hey Aviin
Thanks for reading :) I am very pleased that you can relate because I thought I was the only one experiencing FOMO!
Ohh yea having no experience at all can definitely take a toll on people.
Fortunately you do have some experience of the work environment (not PR i know) but still! It's never how you expected it to be and I can back that up but in my case, I was under-expecting (in some sort) as the experience that I got was way more than I would imagine.
Ohh absolutely, I can say that I actually suffer from this psychological need to over-doing and over-attaining. It drives me crazy but i guess it is worth it because without pressure, I would not be driven enough to work harder.
Anyways thanks for your comment
Looking forward to reading yours!
Cheers
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