An internship is a carefully monitored work or service experience in which a student has intentional learning goals and actively reflects on what she or he is learning. Plan to complete your first internship after your sophomore year and consider completing multiple internships. Students with two or three internships during college are often the most successful in securing full time employment quickly upon graduation.
A typical internship will:
Last three to six months
Often be taken for academic credit
Be part-time or full-time, paid or unpaid
Include an intentional “learning agenda” structured into the experience, such as learning objectives, observation, reflection, evaluation, and assessment
Balance the intern’s learning goals and the specific work an organization needs completed
Promote academic, career, and/or personal development
Reasons why every student should complete an internship:
Apply knowledge learned in the classroom to actual on-the-job experiences
“Try on” a career before making a long-term commitment
Increase your marketability; employers want students with education and experience
Build a network of contacts in your field
Develop confidence by gaining industry specific skills
Sharpen your interviewing skills
Earn course credit and fulfi ll approved requirements in your major
Your internships in college may pave the path to your future career — many interns are hired with the company for which they interned.
Learn more about internships:
Internship
Advice from Wetfeet.com
More than a dozen informative articles to help you focus your internship
goals and get the most out of the internship of your
choice.
