Internship expectations afford opportunities for those searching to gain the skills required when seeking a full-time job in today’s competitive job market. Several students who are seeking to do an internship do not know what to expect or what they should do first.
What an Internship Is
An internship is a pre-professional experience whereby people get the required experience to get hired in a career field of interest.
By completing an internship, students will establish the knowledge and skills interviewers seek in this competitive job market.
However courses taken in college can assist prepare for a future career in a specific field, it is the experiential component that offers the skills essential to enter a field and be successful. There are several types of internships available.
An internship for an art student seeking experience in a museum will look very different than the internship that an environmental studies student might do to assist make better the water quality in a local community. Just like jobs, internship expectations come in all shapes and sizes, and there is no limit to the kinds of internships available since they can be anything that suits one’s imagination.
In addition to college students, there are several career changers who choose to do an internship to learn more about a career and get the necessary experience.
Instead of going back to school immediately, doing an internship is a way to try out a new job or career without making a permanent commitment. Testing the waters by doing an internship may open doors and could lead to a new career that’s satisfying and rewarding.
The Value of Doing an Internship
Internship expectations can open the door to getting a job.
For college students, it is vital to complete the required courses to get a degree, but often it is not enough to be capable to crack the job market and get hired in the field. In addition to gaining the required knowledge and skills, internships also offer a snapshot of what it would be like working in a specific field.
Researching careers and even doing informational interviews with people presently working in those fields can just provide a certain level of information but can’t give a true picture of the day to day activities of say a marine biologist or financial analyst in its true form.
Internship for Credit Requirements
Internship expectations for credit may be a requirement for a particular major or even graduation which leaves no choice on if an internship should be done for credit. Meeting the academic requirements of a college curriculum is an important reason for doing an internship for credit. Internships for credit also add an academic component to an internship for credit.
A faculty sponsor commonly sets the criteria for students who are doing an internship for credit and may need a journal, essay paper, research project, or class presentation as an additional aspect of the actual internships.
It is significant to realize that employers do not usually have a preference that a student completes an internship for credit or event that a student gets paid for their internship experience.
Employers are commonly more fascinated in hiring an applicant that has the essential knowledge and skills and finding someone who has had exposure to the field which hopefully reduces the likelihood that the new employee will leave because the job was not what they expected.
Fitting an Internship Into an Already Hectic College Schedule
Internships might require anywhere from eight to forty hours per week. Internships for credit usually have a set number of hours that are needed to meet the requirements of the college. Usually, it is between 130 and 150 hours required to get 3 college credits. Many employers, specifically those near college campuses, offer very flexible hours for students to be able to attend classes while also completing an internship.
Finding Internship Expectations
There are several ways to find an internship. The top three way are networking, online databases and listings, and prospecting.
Networking
Since networking is believed to be the top job search strategy, it also can be very beneficial when searching for internships as well. Contacting family, friends, faculty, previous employers, and college alumni from your college may give worthy leads on internships available. Don’t overlook this valuable technique when looking for an internship.
Online Internship Databases/Company Websites
The internet has offered a wealth of information for those who are searching for an internship. Checking with the Career Services Office at your college is a good place to begin to find local, national, and international internships. The Career Services Office will generally devote a specific section on their website for students to find internships.
If You Cannot Find an Internship You Need to Do
Prospecting affords an opportunity to seek out unadvertised internship expectations and job opportunities. If there is a specific employer you’d like to work for, but you don’t see any advertised openings, why not try contacting them straightly to see if there are any potential internships or jobs opening up in the future.