Are you curious about internships, but hesitant to apply? Here are six reasons to go for that internship!.
1. Work Experience
The job world is highly competitive. You want to give yourself the best chance possible for success. In order to make yourself a competitive applicant you need to have experience in your job field. If you do an internship, then when you get out of school you will already have something related to your job field to put on your resume. There’s hardly a better way to gain experience!
2. Explore Opportunities
Internships are a good way to test your dedication to your current career goals, or to try out something in which you may be interested, but have never had the chance to do. You may get the chance to take on job responsibilities for which you wouldn’t otherwise qualify, or work on a project of meaning and interest to you.
3. Make Money
Not all internships offer stipends or hourly wages, but many of them do. As you probably know, most college students are somewhat strapped for cash. This is a reason in and of itself to explore internship opportunities.
4. Transition to Job
Some internships will offer you a paid position at their company when you have completed the intern phase, or may offer you full time employment with benefits after you graduate. Many college graduates experience anxiety and frustration around the time of their graduation because they don’t know where they will be working, and may be forced to move back home with their parents in the interim between the end of school and the beginning of their careers. Students who have internships may have their anxieties quelled by the knowledge that if they at least gain experience from their work, if not a career opportunity.
5. Networking
Internships are a great way to meet people who are working in your future career field. Students may be working with reputable members of their desired fields, and will have the opportunity to talk to people with experience in the jobs they someday hope to possess themselves. Students may be lucky in the connections that they make, and find post college work through these connections, or at the very least have someone with the same sort of experience to support them in reaching their career goals.
6. College Credit
Some students may be hesitant about applying for internships because they are not sure they can handle the work load and go to school full time. However, most schools will offer college credit to students who do internships.
Wouldn’t it be great to be gaining class credit, to be interacting with people who have the same job interests as you, to have the potential to make money, and to have an easier time finding a job out of college? Apply for internships, and prepare for your post-college life now!
