Many incentives exist for workers to do a great job in the workplace. One huge incentive is money. Other incentives might include health insurance, retirement benefits, gym membership, child-care services, professional development opportunities, etc. Even though all of these reasons exist for workers to work hard and do a good job, there are also more intrinsic rewards other than the obvious. Doing a great job also gives an employee a sense of pride by providing a product or service that’s meaningful and offers something to help others. This comes with its own set of advantages and rewards. This post will let you know about the most prominent advantages of doing an unpaid internship.

In contrast, the incentives for doing a good job at your place of employment are quite obvious but what are the rewards that a student gets for doing a good job when doing an unpaid internship? Truthfully there are several benefits for students who complete an unpaid internship and there are also ways to try to receive funding when an internship is unpaid. In comparison, it is very similar to getting good grades in college. Whether it be in a college classroom or interning for an employer, doing a good job results in increased opportunities for the future especially when being evaluated directly against other students or employees. Whether they are paid or not, interns will get a first-hand look at what’s entailed in actually working for an employer in the real world.

How Unpaid Internship May Benefit Students

• How to be victorious working for a boss.

• The significance of adhering to a company dress code.
• The importance of time management as well as getting to work on time and following company policy for breaks and lunch.
• How to compromise and state opinions objectively.
• How to work in a team atmosphere.
• How to manage conflicts and pressure in the workplace.

• Establishing a network of professionals for the future.
• Developing a great addition to your resume.
• Tips to get along with a diverse group of people.
• Development of strong people skills whether it be in person, on the phone, or through emails and social networking sites.

The Advantages, Explained

Do not get us wrong when we talk about the benefits of unpaid internship. As most people, we do advocate for finding paid internship whenever possible. It is also significant to be a realist. The practice of not paying interns will decrease as more employers may be forced to pay for the work completed by their interns. Although there is much ambiguity in Department of Labor’s Internship Guidelines, three employers recently had class action suits filed against them by their interns.

The above advantages can be invaluable to interns and might be considered merely as valuable as health insurance is to any employee of a company. Learning the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in the workplace is something that cannot be taught in any college or university. The personal connections you make and the mentoring you receive is also something unique to the workplace and can’t be gotten when sitting in a college classroom.

Also, remember that networking is believed to be the #1 job search strategy when searching for a job. The worth of having an internship on your resume can’t be overlooked as well as the confidence you will gain by knowing you can transfer your college success to being successful in the real world.

Internships are also temporary which means there is always an end in sight. Individuals often get burned out working for a long period of time in an industry but with an internship, you know that in a couple of months you will be moving on to something else. If the internship proves to be an amazing experience, then hopefully the temporary internship will move into a full-time job. You will have already had the chance to try it out and see if it is a good fit for both you and the employer. The fact is that students do not commonly go into an internship with the same feeling as employees who have just accepted a full-time job.