Internship 101

Everything you need to know about internships

Internships are a great way to gain real world experience in different career fields. In college, it is often stressed how important having an internship on your resume is yet understanding internships may be difficult. As a senior who is graduating with 4 internships under my belt, I am here to give you a crash course all about internships. 

There are so many types of internships to choose from, but it is important to have one that fits your needs and restrictions. There are 4 key things to think about when applying to internships: the amount of hours per week, payment, modality and interest in the field. 

Internships will be part time (usually no more than 25 hours a week but has to be less than 40) or full time (40 hours a week).Part time internships are recommended for students who are enrolled in a semester’s worth of classes because they provide more flexibility in a given work week. Full time internships are usually taken in the summer. Having a part time internship over the summer is also a good option because it would allow students more time to work an extra job or take summer classes. The part time internship hourly commitment will vary a lot. For example some will only require 5-10 hour commitments while others will be a strict 30 hours a week commitment. In my experience on the internship hunt, 10-15 is the most common during the semester and summers are closer to 25. 

Internships can also be paid or unpaid, which is an important thing to consider. Personally, I think internships should be paid but that is not the industry standard. Paid internships have a lot more competition, so it might be easier to land an unpaid internship. But unpaid internships might also be more flexible because you aren’t being paid. My advice would be if you can afford to take an unpaid internship, try and apply for those as your first internships and then apply for paid internships once you have some experience under your belt. My other piece of advice is to take unpaid internships only if the hourly commitment is 15 hours or less. That way you have time for other paid opportunities. And yes, full time unpaid internships exist…don’t take them! 

Finally, make sure you’re interested in the internship field to some degree. It doesn’t have to be your dream field. At the end of the day, internships are learning experiences and you should want to learn about something you are passionate about or interested in. I also want to mention that it’s fine if you start an internship and end up realizing you don’t like that field. Now you know that field isn’t for you but I bet you still learned other valuable skills. I was once told that you learn just as much from an internship that you enjoyed than an internship that you didn’t. I have to agree, because now you know what things you don’t like in a workplace. 

As someone who has been actively searching for internships since my junior year, here are my tips for the internship job hunt: Getting your first internship is the hard part, and after that it gets a lot easier to get interviews and offers. I would suggest applying to smaller companies for your first internship. They are more willing to teach you and take a chance on someone with limited experience than a large company. 

My next tip is to apply to a lot of internships! I know you might find one that seems perfect for you, but trust me you will not get interviews for every job you apply for. Applying to multiple companies will give you more chances to find the right internship. Also, remember that you can turn down an internship offer if you don’t think it’s the best one for you. I know it can seem hard but trust your gut. I’ve had to do it before and have felt relieved by my choice.

Always go into your interviews with a positive attitude and growth mindset. These are just as important as what is on your resume. And finally, you will not get every job you apply for and that’s ok. It will feel bad to get rejected but that does not define you or your self worth. Just brush yourself off and keep trying. It will work out in the end!

Congratulations, you got the internship! Now what? Here is my advice on what to do during your internship to make it the most beneficial for you: The first is to develop a clear line of communication with your supervisor. Communication is key in any job, so getting this set as earlier as possible is necessary. Next is to actually do your work. This is the best way to grow your skills. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, especially if you are unclear about a task. You should always be polite and professional. An internship is a job, so you want to be professional in your demeanor. Don’t forget to connect with coworkers, this could be on LinkedIn or in actual meetings with them. There is no such thing as having too many solid work connections. Some internships have a pre-planned exit while others will be up to the intern, so make sure to give at least two weeks notice for when you plan to leave. Finally, keep notes of the tasks you are doing throughout the internship that you can later put on LinkedIn or your resume. This will be easier than trying to remember everything at the end. 

At the end of the day, I would highly suggest getting at least one internship before you graduate. That experience is so important and will help your post-grad journey. Getting an internship can be hard but my biggest piece of advice is to just be you and trust the process!