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INTERNSHIPS, IMPORTANT OR NOT?
By Tiana Steward
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y., Dec. 2—Imagine you graduated with your undergraduate degree. You want to start a career with a Fortune 500 company. However, each time you apply, you are told you need to have some experience in order to be considered for the job. You are frustrated because you do not understand how you can gain experience if no one will hire you. Another scenario is you graduate and you have been offered an entry-level position. After a few months into the job, you realize it is not the career for you.
The two scenarios above are a reality for many students who graduate from college without doing an internship. When preparing for a career, one of the most important steps is to secure and complete an internship.
Internships give students the hand on experience that they need to get a job upon graduation. They also help students to realize if this is the right field for them. Internships also offer educational improvement as students apply the knowledge that is gain in classes. They also offer more training and learning experiences, which can help to understand class work from the hand on experience.
Interning not only helps students to hone the skills that are learned while in college, but also helps students to realize what needs to be improved. It helps students when looking for a job because they now have the “real world experience” that many employers look for.
Many employers who hire interns have a common standard a junior or higher in a college or University, who can receive academic credit for doing the internship, which in reality is not true. There are programs that help freshmen and sophomores to attain an internship, during the summer.
INROADS, is a program that is develop to place talented minority students in the business industry and helps them to prepare for a corporate and community leadership. According to INROADS.org, “INROADS seeks high performing Black, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American Indian students for internship opportunities with some of the nation’s largest companies. Our rigorous career development training process will challenge you to commit to excellence and raise the bar on your personal expectations.”
Programs like INROADS and the T. Howard Foundation help students to get the real world experience that is needed. The earlier a student can start an internship, the more experience they will be available to put on their resume.
“Just apply for any internship that you come across as a student, the more the better,” said Marist junior, Albert Franco. “I mean what is the worst that they could say… no?” said Franco.
Each company that has an internship program and a legitimate web-site has detailed information about the company and the internship program on their website. All students have to do is their homework. It is like applying for college; you look around and visit each school, before making a final decision. You want to make sure that they offer a structured program and provide meaningful projects for their interns. Talk to other students who have applied and gone through the program, so that you know what is expected of you and to get a feel for what it might be like. Make sure you take other peer experiences very lightly, because what one person experiences will not be the same for the next person.
Another source to find out about internship can be the Center for Career Services. They have internship advisers and people will be able to help students to find some guidance. They offer and have services that can help students to get connected to employers all over. They have events such as the career fair, which allows students to meet recruiters from some of the top companies around the world and find out what they look for in interns and maybe even get an interview for an internship position at the company.
Career Services help to keep students informed with is going on around their campus with, what employers will be their recruiting or which companies are looking for interns.
“Desmond Murray, from Center for Career Services, has been a help to me since I was a freshman and I am glad that he does what he does,” said Marist junior, Victoria Banks. “I feel that Mr. Murray and career services as a whole do a lot for students when it comes down to internships and networking. It's amazing how much time and energy they put into helping students to get the best opportunity that they can,” said Banks.
Internships help students to prove their ability to work in professional settings. Even if they want to apply for a job with the company or just use it on a resume for experience, every college student should at least do an internship, during their four years at a college.