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Student Internships

Employers place great emphasis upon the value of skills. Work experience will add to your skills profile and will look good on your CV, supplementing those skills developed during your degree and through extra curricular activities.

Many employers are well aware of the benefits of work experience to students and often use their work experience programmes as an extended interview process. It also helps to raise their profile with students at an earlier stage than would be the case if they were to recruit only graduates. Remember that you can bring them new insights and the ability to tackle problems and tasks that otherwise would not get done.

Internships count as valuable experience if you learn how to articulate the skills you are developing.

What are Internships?
An internship is a short term or part-time period of work experience during the academic year, easter vacation or summer months in which a student receives supervised practical training in a certain role. Internships are often very closely related to a student's academic and career goals, and may serve as a foundation to professional employment. Some internships provide very close supervision by a mentor in an apprenticeship-like arrangement. Some internships provide you with a salary, while some are unpaid.

The most important factor in choosing an internship is to select a company in an industry which generally interests you and in which you would consider starting your career. Most internship programmes will expect a minimum level of academic achievement before you are accepted. Make sure you research any company you apply to thoroughly and confirm what you will be doing before accepting any offer.

Although any company or industry can offer an internship they tend to be found in city based companies. Banking, investment and financial services organisations, strategic and management consultancies, engineering and law firms are common employers. These companies recruit hundreds of graduates each year and internships form part of their recruitment campaign. For these companies, internships provide a 'try-before-you-buy' method of selection with up to 80% of summer interns being offered graduate jobs in some cases.

The Benefits of an Internship

Internships can vary greatly in structure, duration, pay, work and the benefits they provide. One of the best ways to decide which career is for you is to undertake an internship in that area and see if you enjoy it. Obviously, if you want to be an accountant you cannot actually expect to work as an accountant in a firm in the summer for six weeks, but, if you get an internship with an accounting firm, you could find yourself working with them, helping them with their work and seeing what really goes on.

In addition, an internship will give a real feel for the working 'culture' of an organisation and allow you to find out if you will 'fit-in' and if it's the career for you, something that is really hard to grasp from reading companies' recruitment literature (which as you know can all sound the same). So what better way is there to help you make your career decision?

An internship is also a fantastic way to improve your transferable skills (skills that you learn in one situation and can take to another environment). Team working, organisational, time management and communication skills are classic examples that most employers want evidence of in the application process. Even though you will start to develop these kinds of skills when you are studying at university, the more evidence you can give employers the stronger candidate you will be and an internship will certainly help you demonstrate you have abundant transferable skills on your CV and at interviews.

How to make the most of an Internship
An internship is a step into the professional world. Your future employer is not only looking for excellent academic achievement, they also want well-rounded employees who have some experience of the 'real world'. An internship provides you with the perfect platform to achieve this. However, after you have secured your internship how do you ensure you benefit from the experience so you can demonstrate your skills and abilities to potential future employers?

Set realistic personal goals. While some internships are very structured, others are not, so you need to spend some time before you start the internship setting goals that you want to accomplish. Maybe it's deciding on what area within marketing that you want to specialise, or learning new skills, or building your network. Whatever your goals, you will feel a greater sense of accomplishment once you achieve them.
Have regular meetings with your supervisor(s). You may get a supervisor who never schedules meetings with you or travels quite a bit, so you have to make sure to have regular meetings where you can share experiences and lessons learned - both good and bad - as well as give progress reports.
Tackle all tasks with enthusiasm and a positive attitude. In just about every company, a new intern is going to have to "pay his or her dues." You will undoubtedly be given some menial work to do, such as photocopying, but the key is to complete all your work assignments with the same level of enthusiasm and professionalism.
Avoid negativity. The quickest way to ruin a good internship is being negative. So, avoid complaining, being rude, disrespecting colleagues, arriving late, leaving early, being small-minded, missing deadlines, appearing arrogant, wearing improper attire, acting unprofessionally, appearing inflexible, and taking part in office politics.
Never shun a chance to learn more. Take every opportunity presented to you to attend company or industry meetings, conferences, and events; participate in training workshops; and read all company materials.
Get as much exposure as possible. Some of the best internships rotate you among departments and supervisors, but if yours doesn't, don't let that stop you from tackling new tasks, meeting people outside your department, and attending company social events. The more you are exposed to new ideas and new people, the more you'll learn.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. Always remember that an internship is a learning experience for you. While the employer expects to get a certain level of work from you, you are not expected to know everything about the job. Seek advice and raise questions whenever you encounter something that is not familiar to you. Be open-minded about new ideas and procedures - remember that you don't know everything!
Take the initiative. Employers encourage employees to tackle tough problems and to think "outside the box" in order to find solutions. Just make sure you work with your supervisor(s) so you don't overstep your authority - and make sure you share the spoils with them.
Find a good mentor. A mentor is someone at a higher level in the organisation that looks out for you and makes sure you are learning what you need to know and accomplishing what you need to do. A mentor can also shield you from office politics and be a good sounding board for you to discuss ideas, ask questions, etc.
Network. One of the key tools of job-hunting is utilising your network to find your next career step, whether another internship or a job upon graduation (and beyond). Build professional relationships with your supervisor(s) and other managers in the organisation. These people are also a good source for getting other job-hunting advice and tips from their years of experience.
Leave with tangible accomplishments. One of your goals with any internship is leaving it with some tangible results - both for your CV and your portfolio (if you use one). Maybe you developed a brochure, computerised an inventory system, organised a sales conference, met with clients, tracked industry trends, etc.
Enjoy yourself. Most internships are great experiences, so make sure you have some fun while you're working and learning.

Despite many of the positives aspects of internships, one of their drawbacks is that they are competitive and sometimes harder to get on to than the company's graduate training scheme. And remember, only certain sectors of the job market offer internships. For example internships are often offered by financial firms but looking for an internship in the media might be like looking for a needle in haystack.

Getting an internship in an organisation is not easy and takes real commitment but the results are certainly worthwhile. Good luck!

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