Have you ever accepted a freelance offer, internship, or event that was not what you expected? It happens more than you think. You get your hopes up in the job or internship, then reality is a totally different story. Instead of quitting and looking for another opportunity, you could continue the internship and see what you can actually learn.
A lot of jobs and internship descriptions list out the main priorities first then at the bottom it usually says “office duties as needed” or something similar. Then the first day you show up and it’s a lot of office duties and being busy than the important things listed in the job description. Before you dash out of there, think about what you can learn in the busy work. For example, small businesses use interns to help out with all office duties, not just styling people or writing articles. So take initiative and find tasks to complete. If you notice something is dirty, clean it. Need to print of articles, print them. Do things without being asked because there is nothing more annoying to a boss than an intern that completes tasks and thinks they are done.
These internships can actually be a blessing in disguise because you learn so much. As an intern you have no seniority so you are the one doing the minimum to keep the office going. You may be working on Excel documents and shipping out dresses or clothing. Do it with your head held high because you are doing what’s needed. Without a person running around the streets sending out invites, cleaning out the inventory room, or dusting the shelves, important things may not get done because others are focusing on the minuscule tasks.
Busy work is never fun in school or in the job world, but it needs to be done from time to time. The Millennial generation has a bad reputation for being lazy and whiny. Don’t let that get to you though. Work as hard as you can and you will get rewarded in the long run. Bosses really do see that small tasks get done, otherwise they wouldn’t ask for them in the first place. Take the busy work and the skills you learn to the next internship because you never know who you can impress with your Excel skills.