College internships lead to career positions

A recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reported that over 66 percent of over 5,200 interns in the intern class of 2020, received full-time jobs as a result of their internship participation. According to Town and Country magazine, “The right internships can be the key to a great job.” Internships provide college students with the skills they need to work in a corporate environment. Career advisors urge students to include the competition of at least one internship by the time they graduate.

What is an internship? Adele Scheele, author of Making College Pay Off provides the following definition, “Internships typically are short-term fairly menial jobs within an organization, paid or not, that serve to acquaint you with what that organization dos and simultaneously give it a chance to see whether you fit in.” Interns may be assigned general office responsibilities or the opportunity to assist on a special project.

To assist your college student in locating an internship, keep in mind the following advice:

First, recognize the value of internships. US Black Engineer magazine concluded, “From chief executive officers to entry-level employees, everyone in the engineering industry . . . agrees that internships are definitely the key to corporate America’s door.” Chris Perez, the president of a Southern California public relations firm reported, “Internship provide students with an education they can’t get in the classroom. An internship is a great entree to getting a job.”

Second, search for challenging internships. Mark Oldman, author of America’s Top 100 Internships suggests that students searching for an internship consider the following questions: “Does the program offer interns substantive, challenging work? Do interns embark on meaningful projects or do they end up babysitting the photocopy machine? Do they provide adequate workplace or are they shoehorned into substandard cubbyholes? Do they have heir own phones, typewriters, and computers?”

Third, review online internship resources:

https://joinhandshake.com/blog... Learn about internship programs in central Florida. Receive direct messages from employers about new jobs and events. Connect with alumni and other employees at organizations that interest you. Get an inside look at employers and jobs with student reviews.

LinkedIn This website is great for your internship search. Build a personal profile and reach out to everyone you know, especially professional contacts.

Glassdoor This website has internship listings from several sources, including company websites, partnerships with job boards and directly from employers.

Internships.com This website has 100,000 listings from 60,000 employers.

The Wall Street Journal concluded: “Internships offer the chance to take on real responsibilities while rubbing shoulders with seasoned professionals.

Reed Markham

Associate Professor, School of World Languages and Speech, Daytona State College