How Internships Can Create Opportunities for Success

What’s one more thing to add to your already hectic schedule that you have in your final year of high school or college? Partying and celebrating your forthcoming freedom from school is most likely at the top of that to-do list. But before you celebrate that freedom, consider this: an internship.

An internship is when a student works in an organization (paid or unpaid), which allows the student to gain valuable experience, learn new and valuable skills and develop priceless relationships. Internships can last for as little as three months (summer is coming) and as much as six months, so it doesn’t take up your whole final year of high school or college. Think about all the things you’ve learned as a student and the type of advantage having an internship will give you when you finally enter the workforce.

THE BENEFITS OF INTERNSHIPS

Having recognized the benefits of an internship and taken advantage of those opportunities, here are some great reasons to get an internship:

Gain Valuable Experience 

This is your opportunity to “try out” the job or career of your choice. You also gain skills that you can only learn on the job. Not only have you gained skills, but you’ve had the opportunity to demonstrate them. The individuals that you work with during your internship can vouch for your skills and experience.

Spruce up your resume

College is a great way to begin your career journey with clubs and organizations. Still, viable experience as an intern could turn the eye of many employers, creating an edge over others in the job market.

Develop Skills 

Your skillset is limited when you first finish school. An internship will help develop and enhance soft and hard skills. Today’s employers are just as interested in your soft or transferable skills as they are in the specific skills to the job.

Build Relevant Relationships 

Networking is a vital skill to have in the job market. The relationships that you build while interning is critical to your future success. Once you build those relationships, they, in turn, can set you up for success just based on the relationships that you’ve built.

Meet Your Mentor 

It would be best if you had direction, and one of the best ways to get that is to acquire a mentor. Many people meet their mentors in their internships. Mentors are experienced and trusted advisers — they are a part of that relationship-building you should be doing in your internship. Still, they work with you to ensure you are successful. Mentorship is not a one-way relationship. It requires giving and taking to be effective.

REACH OUT

So, did I spark an interest? Do you want to learn more about internships? Learning more about finding an internship is as easy as talking with your guidance counselor or visiting your college and career center. All the resources you need to get started are right there in the palm of your hands. The staff there are there to help you succeed in this aspect.  Your school may have partnered with large corporations and medium-sized businesses to offer internships to students just like you. 

When moving into the workforce soon after school, taking advantage of internships creates opportunities beyond the time spent during an internship. It’s not easy to get work right out of school, so the more experience you can gain to include in the work experience section of your resume, the better. Get a leg up on other students entering the workforce by obtaining vital skills that employers crave under your belt. Internships are not all fun and games, though. They are meant to test your ability to work a job and give you hands-on experience in the industry or field of your choice.

Internships test all the work you put in your classes by thrusting you into the reality of the job — giving you the chance to try out the job before you work the job. Now, take the first step into your future and sign up for an internship.

The Job Help Center at the Library can help with your college and career path and goals. From one-on-one resume reviews to mock interviews, the Job Help Center can help you find, apply and be ready to interview for that internship. See the calendar here.

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This blog was written and updated by De’Trice Fox, adult services librarian in the Main Library’s Job Help Center.