Landing the perfect internship is not only a luxury but it has become a necessity for many students. Although many students dream of landing their dream internship, only a few are fortunate enough to land what one would call a dream internship. However landing an internship that is well suited for you and is productive is probably a more realistic goal. Below are issues that you may encounter when trying to land your dream internship, there are also helpful solutions to these issues.
1. Location, Location, Location
Many students believe that if you are not in a major city you cannot have meaningful internship. This is very far from the truth. More so than the location of your internship, it is important to make sure that the company/organization you will be interning with is a good personal fit. I would also suggest making sure that the company you intern with ahs aspects of their intern program that are important to you.
2. Paid vs. Unpaid
When should you take an unpaid internship? This is a question that only you can answer just because an internship is paid/unpaid does not mean that you will do any more or less work than with the other. There are several factors that should be considered before making a decision as to whether you can take an unpaid internship. These are factors that can vary drastically from person to person.
3. First Impression
Before receiving an interview with a company/organization, the first impression of you often comes from your resume and cover letter. This is an element that can either push you forward or stop you dead in your tracks. Before sending a resume off to companies, ask a professor or someone professional to look over your resume. Having a second opinion may stop you from turning in a resume that has careless errors or is worded in a confusing way.
I hope that this blog post was helpful in some way. Good luck finding the perfect internship. Remember that universities have a wealth of resources when it comes to internships and jobs. If you are a FAMU student, register for internship and job information at www.famusjgc-oip.com.
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Having an internship can be very helpful for your career. In a sense it’s like finding a job. The process is the same as far as turning in a resume and the interview process. The helpful tips posted on this blog can help students be prepared for job and internship interviews.
ReplyDeleteStudents should also be aware of the many different experiences that internships have to offer. Students often give their testimonials about filing papers, helping out around the office, working on different projects outside of the office, and more work related tasks. The testimonials that are usually withheld are the extremely boring horse and whip experiences.
I have been in colloquiums where students first tell how they had their resumes reviewed by a professor or expert, go on the interview, get the internship, then get worked to death or do nothing at all. I have heard stories where a student’s job was to clean up around the office and to go and get lunch and coffee for employees. Some just sat around really doing nothing, which may seem cool to some, but if you are out of state and you aren’t getting paid it’s not cool. The company was wasting the student’s time and their internship experience.
Having a rock solid resume is important as well as the interview, but your behavior and work efforts are very important too. Whether a student has a desk job or has to go out and actively get the job done, he/she should always do their best and leave a good impression even if their job was to run errands. Be the best errand runner you can be and remember not to take another intern from that place again.
-Armegan Anderson, SA&P Firm
I appreciated this post about internships very much. I am currently in the process of looking for an internship this summer and I am realizing that its not as easy or as fun as I originally thought. I am now in the process of getting my resume together and applying to as many internships as possible. I really want to intern in New York City this summer, but now I have realized that I need to apply every where because I have to take what I can get.
ReplyDeleteI know I need to be very professional when applying for internships because even if you have a degree and no actual work experience, my chances of getting a descent job that pays well is not as likely as someone with 2 or 3 internships.
Just an idea...it would be cool if you guys created another little section with different interships all over the country....I would appreciate it! lol
-- Samantha Savory, SA&P PR Firm
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI recently just finished an internship this past December and even though it was unpaid, I don't regret taking the position. The hands on experiences and networking I gained made the internship well worth it.
ReplyDeleteAnd now I'm looking forward to finding that "perfect" internship (cough...paid...cough)
prnonos.blogspot.com
I definitely think that this blog will be helpful to anyone who is attempting to secure that "dream internship". All one must do is look at this outline and they can be on their way to getting the internship that could put them on the path to success.
ReplyDeletePorsche
I am in the process of looking for an internship now and this posting was a great help. All of the topics answered questions I had. Another problem I and others may have while trying to find a "dream internship" is time. With school and work it becomes hard to take on another task. What are somethings that can be done to help manage time?
ReplyDelete