Are your parents or careers advisors nagging at you to find an internship? Are you feeling the pressure as your friends start landing fabulous opportunities? Maybe you want to start getting experience but you’re not even sure what an internship actually is. We will help you by breaking down everything you need to know about internships so you can get started!
Cover The Internship Basics
For those who don’t know, an internship is a temporary job for students. Students and grads complete internships during college or university, although they can be useful for career changers too. The goal of an internship is to give young people experience they can use when they graduate to land a permanent role.
What Is An Internship Good For?
Internships are super useful for students and grads that need to gain some experience and new skills quickly. When you are starting out in your career, you may not have work experience that will help you land a job. An internship acts as a bridge between university and the world of work by easing you into company life and allowing you to develop the knowledge and skills you’ll need. Plus, an internship can often pay so you’re able to supplement your income at uni while getting the valuable experience you might not get working a student job
An internship is also great for building a professional network so that you can gain opportunities in the future. By building relationships with your employer and colleagues, and staying in touch with them after the internship, you’re creating a network you can reach out to for years to come. If you do well as an intern, it’s actually not uncommon for employers to hire interns for full-time positions. Networking during your internship can make it more likely that an employer will keep you as nobody wants to get rid of someone that they genuinely enjoy working with – or that the rest of the team enjoys working with! Even if your attempts to network don’t land you a job at the company full-time, it can give you valuable recommendations that will allow you to gain a grad job or let you use these recommendations further down the road.
Types of Internships
There are loads of different types of internships you can take part in and it’s often the details are up to your employer. Some companies want interns to work full-time, 9-5 whereas others are looking for part-time or flexible workers. If a company is looking to hire more young people or GenZ, you might be able to negotiate different working hours so you can study while you work. Some internships take place throughout the year, while others are specifically for summer or the holiday period like Christmas.
Another difference between internships is that some are paid while others are unpaid. Again this really depends on the company and the budget this company has for interns. Another common internship is one that is unpaid but will cover your expenses, like lunch and travel. This way you’re not losing out on any money to gain experience.
Everything You Need To Consider
If you’re looking for an internship, there are some things to consider.
- Is the company hiring? Some companies hire interns year-round while others only do so during certain times of the year.
- Are there other applicants? Many companies only accept one candidate per position so make sure your application stands out!
- Is it a remote or in-person opportunity? Will you need to travel to and from an office or will you need to buy some new technology to complete the internship if you were hired?
- Will you have the time to complete the internship? Sometimes, these opportunities require a lot of work. Even if the company are asking for a part-time intern, they will want someone who can commit during these working hours. This is something to consider if you’re already struggling with university work or juggling personal commitments.
- Financially are you able to cope? A lot of internships are unpaid and the ones that do pay, often don’t pay a lot. Will this wage be enough for you or do you need to consider a different, higher-paying opportunity?
Now you know the basics about an internship and exactly what to expect. Get out there and get searching. Make us, and your parents, proud and hopefully get paid in the process. You got this!
