A Student’s Take on Internships

Internships are one of the best opportunities for college students to get experience, and one of the best options for impressing future employers after college. What is my opinion on internships? Internships are definitely worth it, and very valuable opportunities. Whether they are paid or unpaid, experience is experience, and you won’t want to miss the opportunity to do an internship while you’re in college! It is never too early to start looking for one, even if it is half a year away! It is also advisable to investigate the world of internships by doing some research on what internships might be out there for you in your potential career or field of interest. If you can get your foot in the door by asking pertinent questions before the interview process starts, or during the interview process, the company or entity giving the internship might give you first priority when sifting through applications. I am not going to say that will happen, but it shows that you would be invested in the position that you’re looking at. The big question when you begin to look for internships is to ask yourself: what kind of internship do you want to find? One that is very professional, very low-key, a paid position, an unpaid position, summer/long term or winter/short term might be answers you want to investigate if you do not have any clue what you want out of an internship! A bigger name internship is going to be a lot more competitive in interviewing and in daily work, and might lad you a future job, while a local internship would be less competitive but not any less busy, and it could also build local connections if you stick near to school or your hometown! Unpaid internships are all about the experience, while paid ones can be just as fulfilling in the experience category but you also get paid for your work! A professional internship is important if you’re interning at your future place of employment, while a low-key internship might be learning while helping your professor conduct research over the summer if you’re still in town. For long term internships, like ones you might find over the summer, you want to devote as much time as possible to making sure your work is up to par, for long term internships are often the ones that can be the most fruitful in the long run. The overall benefits of getting an internship outweigh all of the possible cons - internships look fantastic on resumes, give you invaluable experience, can be a source for future recommendations, and they can point you either in the right direction or away from the wrong one! The cons of obtaining an internship is that it will eat up your time over any of your breaks, but this is outweighed by the experience and the other pros that come from landing an internship! There are several ways of finding internships, two of which I find in particular to be what I am going to turn to when hunting for one of my own. I mainly depend on looking in person and online, since they are two of the easiest ways to find an internship. For finding one through physical means, start by looking with your counseling office on campus, since they could probably point you to a resource they have, like an online list, or a bulletin board where a lot of employers post job opportunities. Your university might have a website they update with internships and job opportunities, so be sure to look online or ask someone at the counseling office, too! Bulletin boards around your campus might also have possible internship options in among all the student organization flyers for you to look at, so do not pass those up if you have the time to take a look. You can also try talking with your professors, either in areas you are interested in going into after college, or to the professors that teach in your declared major, and see if any of your professors know of any internships or if anyone in their departments will be offering one or many to students over the next semester or year. Do not forget about one of the best in-person methods to accomplishing most anything - word of mouth. Let your family, friends, and college groups know that you are looking for an internship, and they might be able to help you find one. If you’re searching online, start searching with Fastweb’s internship matches! Just hit the "Internships" tab on the homepage, and Fastweb will come up with matches for your profile, along with alerting you to new internships that you might want to apply to! Fastweb also offers resource articles, which can be found under the "Articles" tab to help manage various aspects of internships and jobs, too, so do not pass those by if you are looking for how-to’s on how to interview for an internship, how to improve your resume, and other helpful tips and advice! Other online sources can be reputable job sites, a company’s social media, or even a cautionary search on Google could turn up an internship. Overall, internships are the next big step in your career if you are currently in college, and they will become a big step if you are just headed off to college! It might seem like a lot to handle but applying for and obtaining an internship will really open your eyes to several aspects of the working world and to the daily work of people in your major! Internships are also really important to build your connections in the working world, figuring out if your area of interest is where you actually want to work, possibly making you some money for school, and getting you experience that you can apply to jobs in the future and your daily life after the internship is completed. Do not forget to utilize all the resources at your disposal, including Fastweb, if you are looking for an internship!