Internships: The greatest tool for college students
One of the worst feelings in the world is when one applies for a job with all its qualifications but is denied due to lack of experience. The job industry today is becoming increasingly competitive with employers now looking for higher qualifications from graduating students. What may just set an individual apart from the herd is the internship they take in college.
The main point of any internship is to gain experience in whatever career path one chooses to follow and build a strong, professional network. Everyone met in an internship is either a potential contact for one’s network or someone they can call upon for advice or referrals when job hunting closer to graduation time. Internships are one of the most important aspects of any college student’s success in future careers.
Apart from building one’s network and gaining hands-on job experience, internships also have other benefits. One of which is being able to apply classroom coursework material to the position they may be in. Lecturers may be confined to giving students a theoretical point of view to certain courses, even if some have some practical essence to it. Internships are where employers get to see what one can do. Thus, they become a real-life experience where one can learn from mistakes and sharpen their skills.
Another excellent reason for completing an internship during college is to earn credit for a class. College is hectic most of the time, and classes can be very demanding. Doing an internship takes some of the weight off, letting one simply earns credits by practicing what they plan to do in the future. It also beats listening to a lecturer day in and day out.
Most internships these days also pay students for their time, making them comparable to real jobs. The tasks in the internship will test your skills and knowledge but at the end of the day one gets to walk away with something in their pocket. Internships also enable an individual to take their career plan for a test drive to see if what they plan to do is really a good fit for them. Perhaps an individual has certain doubts about their career path. There would be no better way to test these doubts than by doing an internship.
Some other benefits of doing an internship are gaining confidence and developing one’s skills. An internship allows one to show their skills while also teaching various life skills to the student. Building motivation and work habits is something else an internship is superb at. There’s nothing like an internship where a student is required to be on their toes to succeed, instilling workplace characteristics students need after they graduate.
Internships also build a student’s resume. Any kind of experience on one’s resume is helpful, but career-relevant internship experience will make a better impression on employers. College is where students find out what exactly they want to do in life. Internships will strongly aid in defining what a college student chooses to do in life, and just like footprints in the sand, each will signify the journey taken to reach the destination.