Internships and Attachments: What to Ask

An internship or attachment should give you more than a line on a CV. It should expose you to real work, a supervisor, feedback, and proof that you can operate in a workplace. Before you accept, ask enough questions to know whether the placement supports your course and your next application.

Jobs in Suva can be competitive for graduates because many offices, banks, NGOs, ministries, professional firms, and regional organisations are based in or near the capital. That makes attachments valuable. A student who can say they handled files, customers, data, lab work, project support, site visits, or reporting under supervision sounds more ready than a student who only lists coursework.

Fiji's universities and training providers treat attachments seriously. FNU material describes industrial attachment as part of graduating requirements, with programmes developed alongside employers. Its academic regulations describe supervised industrial or work experience as the kind that can attract credit, involving organised placements, monitoring, industry supervision, and final assessment. USP Careers Centre material also points students toward internships, placements, attachments, and work experience opportunities through its CareerHub.

Your first question should be about supervision. Ask, "Who will supervise me day to day?" and "Who signs my assessment or report?" A named supervisor matters because interns can easily become invisible in a busy office. You need someone who gives tasks, answers questions, checks work, and confirms what you learned.

Ask whether the attachment meets your course requirements. Some programmes need a certain number of weeks, contact hours, logbooks, site visits, employer reports, or academic sign-off. USP engineering-related programme information, for example, refers to compulsory industrial attachment in some courses. Do not assume any workplace experience will count. Confirm with your lecturer, school, or careers office before committing.

Clarify the duties. A placement may include basic admin, filing, cleaning data, answering phones, shadowing meetings, stock counts, or customer support. Entry tasks are normal, but the work should connect to your study. Ask, "What will a normal day include?" and "What skills should I expect to practise?" If the answer is only "come and help around," ask for more detail.

Ask about hours and attendance. What time do you start and finish? Is lunch included? Are there weekend or evening expectations? What happens if you have class, exams, illness, family obligations, or transport problems? Be honest about your academic calendar. A good placement should build work habits without forcing you to hide school commitments.

Money should be discussed clearly. Some attachments are unpaid because they are course requirements. Some offer allowances, meals, transport, or stipends. Some become paid internships. Ask politely: "Is there any allowance or transport support?" and "Will I receive a letter confirming the placement terms?" Even if there is no pay, you should still know what costs you must cover.

Transport and equipment can make or break the experience. Central Suva traffic, bus timing, parking, rain, and campus distance all matter. Ask whether you need a laptop, safety shoes, uniform, ID card, data, printing, or special software. If the attachment is outside Suva, ask about travel and accommodation early. Do not wait until the night before.

Safety applies to offices too. Ask about induction, workplace rules, protective gear if visiting sites, confidentiality, data handling, and who to contact if you feel uncomfortable. For lab, engineering, hotel, marine, health, construction, or field placements, safety briefing is not optional. You are learning, so supervision should be part of the arrangement.

Ask how feedback works. Will you get weekly check-ins? Will the supervisor review your logbook? Can you ask for a mid-placement conversation if tasks are too light or too unrelated? Feedback turns a placement into development. Without it, you may finish several weeks with no clear story to tell future employers.

Think about your final proof before you start. Ask whether the employer can provide a completion letter, referee contact, or short statement of duties if performance is good. That letter should mention real tasks and conduct, not just attendance. Future employers want to know what you did and how you behaved.

Avoid placements that feel like free labour with no learning. Not every boring task is exploitation. Filing and photocopying happen in real workplaces. The warning sign is when there is no supervisor, no course link, no feedback, no safety briefing, and no record at the end. If that happens, speak to your lecturer or careers office early rather than suffering silently.

Use the placement to build employability. Arrive on time, take notes, ask before using confidential information, keep your phone away, and request more work when appropriate. At the end of each week, write three bullets: tasks completed, skills learned, and questions to ask. Those notes become CV lines and interview examples, and they help your supervisor remember specific work when you later ask for a reference.

When you compare internships, look for clear training, location, duties, supervisor, duration, and apply steps. Search FijiCareers for Jobs in Suva, graduate roles, and entry-level vacancies, then apply through official employer links. A strong attachment should leave you with better skills, a real referee, and a clearer idea of the work you want next.