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Why You Should Get a Summer Internship

April 29, 2011 RSS Feed Print

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Heather R. Huhman

Internship programs have taken a lot of heat, particularly in the last year or so. Some for good reason—not every internship is legal according to the Fair Labor Standards Act, especially opportunities where for-profit companies expect candidates to work full-time for no pay.

With nearly three-quarters of students enrolled in four-year colleges and universities taking on at least one internship during their school career, it’s no wonder people are worried about internship programs taking advantage of young professionals. However, as long as the company abides by the laws surrounding internship programs, those opportunities should not be written off.

And just because some companies are taking advantage of interns does not mean that all internship programs are bad. Quite the contrary, actually. The benefits of internships for college students (and even recent graduates) include—but are certainly not limited to—the following:

Learn more about your field or industry. Along with job shadows and informational interviews, internships are one of the best ways to truly learn about your field from a real-world perspective. While the classroom certainly teaches students important information, there’s something different about implementing those teachings with a real client or customer.

[See 10 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Internship.]

Apply knowledge learned in the classroom. Again, there’s a big difference between learning about strategies and tactics and actually applying them. Interning for an organization helps students learn how their classroom knowledge applies to real situations and reinforces concepts taught in classes.

Gain valuable work experience. In most fields, no longer can a college graduate land an entry-level job with merely a bachelor’s degree and no prior work experience. Internships help students get this real-world experience while still in school. Internship programs are a great way to generate more work samples for your professional portfolio and give you real accomplishment stories for your resume and online profiles.

Decide if this is the right path for you. Working for a company in your industry can give you valuable insight into whether or not the industry is the right choice for you, potentially avoiding the costs of obtaining a degree in a field you’re not interested in. It’s best to know as early as possible, and an internship can help you do that.

Develop and build upon skills. Learning new skills in an internship can help you in future employment opportunities and might give you a leg up on your competition in future application processes.

[See How to Market Your Skills in Your Job Search.]

Get a foot in the door at a company. Internship experiences provide a valuable opportunity to share your skills with a prospective employer long before the hiring process for an entry-level job occurs. This can be a great benefit when, in the future, an opening does occur—if you’ve impressed them, you’ll probably be on the list of top candidates for the job. Also, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), new graduates who took part in an internship program are more likely to have received a job offer than those who didn’t have an internship experience.

Gain valuable networking contacts. Another benefit to completing an internship is the contacts you make. Networking is often one of the best ways to land a new job and a primary way to learn about unadvertised job opportunities.

Obtain references for future job opportunities. Your internship supervisor has had a chance to see your skills in action at the company and is an ideal reference for future job opportunities. Other individuals you work closely with at your internship can also serve as references or provide recommendation letters for your job search.

[See 6 Tips for GenY on the Job Hunt.]

Learn about the world of work. Although you’ve probably had a job before or during college, you probably don’t know what the day-to-day experience of working in your field will be like until your first internship experience. When you choose to intern at a company, you’ll experience first-hand what it’s like to work in an office, interact with supervisors and co-workers, and handle customers or clients.

Meet peers with similar interests. Internship programs can introduce you to other students and recent graduates in your field or who share your interests—which certainly can’t hurt your career or your social life.

What else have you gained from an internship experience?

Heather R. Huhman is a career expert, experienced hiring manager, and founder & president of Come Recommended, a content marketing consultancy for organizations with products that target job seekers and employers. She is also the author of #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010) and writes career and recruiting advice for numerous outlets.

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I graduated with a MBA in May and still have no job. I have a pharmaceutical sciences degree and MBA, but during the time while I was in school for both degrees I had done several federal government internships. I have some experience which is helpful, but it is still hard to attain a job. When I was a junior during the spring semester when studying science the pharmaceutical companies had major layoffs. I knew I wasn't going to land a job in the sciences so I went to do my MBA and worked as a student intern.
I will tell you this that it's very important for students to take advantage of extracurricular activities or join student chapters, student internships, or do volunteering because it is about building your resume during college. It's not all about the GPA or what school you went to, but what can you bring to the organization.
I did a lot of volunteering in my community, joined couple student chapters, worked in federal government, and graduated with a high GPA, but it's still hard knowing there is a lot of competition for jobs. I will say this if you have an impressive resume you will get at least your resume looked at by a hiring manager.
I believe more students should build their resume while in school and because if you don't have work experience or something else to show then you will have a difficulty getting a job and paying off these student loans and other things.
I really encourage students to do student internships at organizations whether it is paid or not paid (volunteer) and make the sacrifice because you need to have some work experience. Don't believe what all these stats say because all of them are rubbish. Majority people have a hard time getting a job and it doesn't matter if your graduated in 09 or 10 or 11. It's very hard.
I know couple of federal agencies have cut the student paid internships and now have volunteer ones, but it's better for college students to try that then have nothing on the resume. So my advice to students in school whether in undergrad or grad school is to build your resume. It is also very wise to attend job fairs and virtual job fairs during your senior year or end of junior year. Do all the networking you can and expect a roller coaster ride after graduation.

Anonmymous of CO 12:03AM October 20, 2011

Internships are getting more competitive including volunteering or unpaid internships. There are schools who have programs that require mandatory internships and without it a person can't graduate. It's getting more difficult due to the bad economy. For example, there was one organization that had about 40 spots in which over 6,000 people had applied. If you get an internship consider yourself lucky. One of things to remember that having work or internship experience will give you an advantage compared to someone who doesn't. I know students who regret never taking the internships and volunteering opportunities while in school. These students are struggling to find employment. People should also remember internships aren't cheap either if a student plans to do work in another city, town, or state. The cost of transportation, apartment, and more needs to be taken into consideration. For example, federal internships in Washington DC area are appealing, but if you are out of state or something then you need to take consideration of costs of living there. Volunteering in organizations are also beneficial which can give you invaluable skills to succeed at work. Although the job market is bad, but building your resume is something students should focus on while in college. Any job or volunteering experience is better than nothing.

Misha of WV 8:10PM June 24, 2011

Great article reminding students (anyone, really!) that unpaid training is still training! In the section about building further skills in an internship--absolutely! Best part is the chance to build the number one sought-after employability skill (National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2011): Communication! I recently blogged about how to spin communication skills from courses taken in college, but the advice would also translate to internships, based on this author's important advice, as well: http://bit.ly/f59RRU. Ellen Bremen, M.A. @chattyprof

Ellen Bremen of WA 10:22AM April 30, 2011