So many of us get caught up in the workload of actual classes during our college careers that we forget about internships until junior and senior year of college. The last two years are the most crucial and stressful. Add extracurriculars like sports or campus clubs and a job onto an already heavy load of classes, and if you’re anything like me, you’re barely getting 4 hours of sleep a night. Just when the finish line seems so close, you’re supposed to make time for an internship.
The fact that many universities don’t stress this until close to graduation is unfortunate, but the earlier you get on that train – the better. Granted, many of us change our majors a few times before really making a solid decision. Once that decision is made, it is time to start looking into internships. This might mean cutting back hours at a job, cutting back on credits taken so you graduate a semester or two later, or dropping some extra curriculars. Internships (and the hands on experience you get and can put on a resume) are what companies are looking for.
Virtual internships
A study done by Interships.com showed that 66% of employers agreed that interview performance and relevant work experience were the most important hiring factors, not the 4.0 GPA that was so difficult to maintain, or on campus extra curriculars. In 2012, 54% of graduates were unemployed or underemployed. That being said, given internship experience, chances of being hired after college with a company that college graduates interned with go up to 70%. That’s a huge switch in probability (for the better) in the current tough economy.
If you are desperate to graduate as scheduled and do not want to give up any extra curriculars, looking into virtual internships might work for you. These are not available everywhere. It will take some digging and maybe even some articulate reasoning to your department about why this is the kind of internship that you desire. If a virtual internship is not possible at your university then it is time to decide what is going to have to give. Here are the top 5 reasons why making the extra push to get one or more internships during college are very important.
1.Test Drive Career
There are internship possibilities for everything from counseling to zoo keeping. The trick is to take the time to find the right one for you so that you leave the internship with a better understanding of your desired career.
When I started college, I thought for sure I was going to go to law school. It wasn’t into my junior year until I realized my ideals no longer sat well with some of the things that I was learning, or with a lot of my peers. I took an internship with the local public defender’s office and it was exactly the evidence I needed to show me that law school was not the path for me. I was very fortunate to have discovered this before I spent many more years down a path that would have left me unhappy and in much more debt.
2. Resume
Generally there are places on the campus that will help with putting a resume together. The truth though is that there is no one way to create a resume. Depending on your field of interest it may be a strict one page. Some are lenient and are okay with two pages. Some fields look for character, and others just want the facts. There is no way to really be sure unless you have spoken with those potential employers and find out exactly what it is they are looking for.
Also, and this is the most important, having some experience that pertains to the job being applied for after college (besides fast food or baby sitting– whatever college job you had) is absolutely necessary. Your degree or degrees will stand out, but employers want to know that you have the real life skills to do the job well.
3. Networking
While interning you not only get to meet people at different levels of the company or government entity but you are able to connect with them as well. There is an opportunity to ask questions you probably wouldn’t have thought of otherwise as well as make an impression on the right people so that they remember you when hiring time comes.
There is also the added factor of those same people contacting you if and when something new in another avenue that maybe you had not considered before becomes available. Those connections and the connections of those you have come to know will be key to finding jobs after college if a position at the internship does not work out.
4. Experience
This may be a bit redundant but it is THAT important. Through an internship, you gain a better understanding of your respective area of study and be able to make the connection between your current studies and how they will apply once you graduate.
If you have not ever worked in a professional atmosphere (and even if you have) sharpening those skills and interacting on a professional level creates the teamwork, communication, and leadership skills employers are looking for.
5. Confidence
This is not something that comes easily to everyone. Even if you are a very confident individual it may come across as arrogance if you have no prior on-the-job experience.
Starting a career after college can be scary for anyone. Having made connections through an internship and having had the opportunity to make mistakes before graduation is such an advantage. It will also give you an idea of the pace of the position that you hope to acquire, making sure you are aware of the workload you are taking on and what is expected of you, so you can walk into that first interview standing tall and confident.
Remember grades are a wonderful representation of intellect, but they are not necessarily a representation of work ethic. Learning what is necessary while in college and then being able to apply that knowledge to the skills needed are what employers want to see.
