Why an Internship Experience is Important for Your Student

A study from Gallup last year revealed that 4 in 10 students have some sort of internship experience during their high school or undergraduate years. Though the availability of internships experienced a setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are finally making a comeback, making it the perfect time to find one. Not only is an internship a learning experience, but it’s the first step for students to launch a career. Although parents can’t secure an internship for their child, they can encourage them to pursue an undergraduate internship experience. Angela Reider, whose daughter completed her first internship during the summer before her junior year in college, told Fastweb, “It is never too early to think about internships. I thought that internship opportunities were primarily for junior and senior-level college students. However, there are many internships that exist for college students of all levels, and even for high school students!”

Why Are Internships Important for Students?

Internships aren’t just about checking a box on the list of student experiences. There is a myriad of lessons that can be learned through an internship opportunity. Reider shared with Fastweb about her daughter’s experience, “Gone are the days of “just grabbing coffee” for the full-time paid employees.” Today’s interns are immersed in comprehensive workplace programs where they gain hands-on experience, build industry-specific skills, make meaningful contributions, and receive valuable mentorship and career guidance.”

Helps your student determine their interests.

Internships are exploratory in nature. Typically, students will shadow multiple roles and meet with a variety of employees during their time as an intern. Through this experience, they can determine what they like and don’t like about the field they’re interested in as well as which roles would be the best fit. While sometimes an internship can affirm a student’s intended career choice, it may also influence them to change their plans altogether. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; better now while they’re still in school than later.

Connects your student to industry professionals.

The statement, “It’s all about who you know,” is never truer than in the workplace. Getting to know professionals in the industry that your child wants to eventually work in could be the key to their landing a job after graduation. Even if they don’t end up working for the company that they interned with, a former employer may connect them with a company that may be a better fit. Plus, those connections that they create during their internship experience can sustain them throughout their entire career.

Provides an environment to learn and grow as a professional.

It can’t be stated enough that an internship does so much more than teach a student about a role or career. It’s their introduction to working in a professional setting. They will learn about time management, effective communication, teamwork, and many other soft skills. These will not only help them after graduation but throughout the rest of their high school and college years too.

A way to gain real world experience.

An internship provides a taste of post-graduate life. Your child would have to live up to real-world expectations, like showing up on time, getting to and from work on their own, and advocating for themselves. For some students, it may even mean living in a different city or country for a semester while they intern. Your child will likely rely on you a lot through this experience, texting you questions constantly. Be helpful and supportive, offering a mix of answers as well as time and space to figure things out on their own.

Teaches work-life balance.

Adjusting to work can be difficult for graduates without any experience. They may not know their limits, when to take a break, and how to set boundaries, among other things. Having an internship experience under their belt will give them a brief look into how to create a work life balance that works for them. They’ll learn quickly when to say yes and no to social obligations after work, how to prepare themselves mentally for the workday the night before, and how to integrate balance into their working hours. It will also help them conceptualize what work life balance looks like for them. There may be some students who don’t mind working long hours if the pay is lucrative. Other students may find that they would rather make less money if it means being able to “clock out” at a decent hour each day to have time for themselves after work. While the internship experience is mostly about learning the ins and outs of a particular industry or role, they can also be contemplating what they want work and life to look like after graduation. With so many companies placing a strong emphasis on work life balance, they’re sure to find a role that suits what they’re looking for.

Getting paid while learning.

While internships are a learning opportunity, there’s also a chance your child could get paid. Not every internship is a paid experience, but in recent years, different rules and regulations have been passed to protect students from being used to do work that would otherwise go to a paid employee. If a paid internship is of interest to your child, there are plenty to choose from across a wide range of industries. Paychecks from internships could be used to support your child’s accommodations and general spending, tuition, or lifetime savings. It’s quite a contrast from college as they are getting paid to learn in this scenario. Reider believes that her daughter’s paid internship is worth more in the post-graduation job search process. “While a summer job is still a valuable experience, as a parent and reviewer of internship opportunities, I feel a paid internship has the potential to hold more weight on a resume. To me, a paid internship over a summer job seems like a no-brainer if your student is able to secure an opportunity that aligns with their interests and goals.”

Will give your student a competitive edge in the job market.

Most importantly, an internship will give your child a leg up on the competition when they officially enter the job market after graduation. They will have real work experience on their resume, perhaps in their intended field or role. For Reider’s daughter, it meant a full-time job offer before college graduation. Reider told Fastweb, “While many of my daughter’s peers were stressing about what they were going to do for work after college and scrambling to find a job during their senior year, she felt substantially less stress and anxiety since her plans were already secure! She still works for this company and loves her job, team, and career progression.” Even if your child isn’t offered a full-time job, it can pave the way for their job offer from another employer. They will have actual experience to draw from, impressing future employers with their knowledge and skill set that other applicants may not have. Finally, they will have legitimate references who can attest to their experience and work ethic in the field. A reference from their internship has a lot of mileage during the job interview process, something that a majority of applicants will not have.

The Importance of Internships to Employers

There are very good, rewarding reasons to encourage your child to pursue an internship experience in high school or college. It will not only confirm their career choices and give them hands-on experience in the field, but it will also give them a competitive edge over other applicants in the job search pool. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) states that students who have completed an internship before college graduation are twice as likely to receive a job offer as those who did not. That’s because interns will know what it’s like to work in a professional setting, grow in their soft skills, and effectively balance their life at and outside of work.