As a young person stepping into adulthood, the future can seem unsure and daunting. This includes the giant task of choosing not just a career but the right career. Everyone dreams of ending up in a job they are passionate about and proud of. But how do you get there?

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Let’s take a look at internships and job shadowing, how they can help you on your career path and why we at Pathfind Media believe every young person should have the opportunity to learn straight from the industry.

The difference between an internship and job shadowing  

First, some definitions.

An internship is a temporary position at a company that can be paid or unpaid and includes practical work related to the intern’s studies or field of interest. The aim of internships is for students to gain real work experience, an opportunity to show off the skills they already have while improving them or learning something new.

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Job shadowing, on the other hand, entails following and observing a person on the job to see how they work and what their duties include. You effectively become their ‘shadow’ for the duration of a few hours to a couple of days. This is a great opportunity for someone to see whether a job might be a good fit for them even if they have no experience.

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Whether you get a position as an intern or spend time job shadowing, it’s important to ask as many questions and take in as much information as possible. Internships and job shadowing are both great opportunities to get a picture of an industry, gain experience - and maybe even get hired!

Internships and Job Shadowing at Pathfind Media  

Pathfind Media is a web design company located in Durbanville, Cape Town, in the Western Cape. We are a small team of passionate individuals working to give our clients everything they need, from professional websites and a new corporate identity to smaller elements such as an email signature, business card or even a blog.

At Pathfind Media, we believe in giving students a chance to learn about our industry through first-hand experience. This is why we became official partners with the tertiary institution STADIO in 2022 - to give students a company to apply for their Work Integrated Learning (WIL) program. However, we have since started expanding our horizons, welcoming interns from the University of Pretoria and Inscape Stellenbosch.

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We are happy to consider any other student interested in web design, corporate identity, photography and other fields related to our industry.

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Stadio even approached us to become elite members of their Programme Stakeholders Committee to help sculpt courses that not only stand the test of time but also set the benchmark in industry relevance. Our participation as specialists ensure that their curricula reflect the actual needs and evolving trends of the industry, producing graduates who don't just fit in but stand out. We review and assess the core modules they offer and provide insights and suggestions on these materials.

Therefore, interns at Pathfind Media will learn about the day-to-day life in the industry as a whole, but our team also tries to accommodate each student by giving them special-interest tasks. You will be included in team meetings and activities, because we want you to feel part of the team throughout your time with us.

Pathfind Media also provides job shadowing opportunities for anyone wanting to learn more about our industry. Job shadowing is shorter than internships, but allows students to observe our team in the work environment and decide whether the industry is a good fit for them.

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If you are considering going into the web industry or already know it’s where your passions lie, then joining Pathfind Media as an intern or simply seeing what we do by shadowing our team would be a great chance to experience the industry in action. Contact us if you want to know more about the internship and job shadowing opportunities we offer.

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