Internships allow you to gain relevant knowledge, skills, and experience to take what is learned in the classroom and apply it to a professional setting as well. Not only do internships help develop your professionalism, but they also encourage character growth including self-motivation and leadership. Furthermore, the experiences and lessons gained through internships are vital for future interviews or applications when you are asked behavioral questions, such as “Describe a time you worked on a team?” or “Explain a time you’ve struggled with a task and how you overcame this?”.
In most internships, you have a mentor who oversees the projects you are a part of and tracks your progress and performance. Therefore, internships provide opportunities for receiving feedback from someone who works in your desired field on a daily basis. Through one-on-one and team meetings, you can learn from others; such as how an executive sets and maintains goals or how to use different softwares and applications.
So, now that you understand the importance of internships, here are personal anecdotes of what it is like to have a summer internship from the perspective of a Marketing major, Finance major, and Computer Information Systems major.
I’ve always heard that internships are incredible learning opportunities, but didn’t realize how true that was until mine – the summer before my Junior year. What I learned was to make your talents known, to ask to be a part of as many projects as possible, and to constantly be open to learning – especially from diverse teams. Another thing I learned is how to adapt and overcome all challenges faced; My internship was moved to an online format due to the Covid pandemic, which taught me how to communicate and create a strong team dynamic in a virtual setting. I met with people in different divisions of the company to gain a more expansive understanding of the company as a whole and within the Marketing team to learn about how Marketing Communications and Marketing Education work together. – Emma Boushie, Marketing major
Having a summer internship is an overall great experience. Not only are you making income, but you’re also learning how to communicate with people you just met. You have to understand their strengths and how you can work together with them on a team to complete tasks and work towards the overall objective of company performance. – Josh Rubin, Finance Major
I think it’s a great opportunity to meet new people as well as gain the knowledge and skills needed to work successfully in the job that is your major. You learn how a company functions and the role you play in that, as well as how to communicate with a diverse team. You learn about the company’s culture and social justice issues they support and if these goals and objectives align with your personal passions which is important if your internship turns into a full-time offer. – Sam Plunkett, Computer Information Systems Major
There are many different ways to find internships, including LinkedIn, your university’s career services, or a custom, highly structured internship program such as InternWorks. Remember to take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself and take every moment as a learning experience. Even if you are not offered the position, you gained relevant experience responding to interview questions and writing thank you emails.
Read more advice from current students through our other blog posts!
