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What a Student
Looks For in a Great Internship
Opportunity to:
- Gain useful and transferable skills.
- See theory and knowledge gained in the classroom applied in
the real world.
- Explore a career/profession to assess fit and gain motivation.
- Experience and be subjected to “real working conditions”.
This may involve attending meetings with clients, access to information
equal to that of regular employees, etc.
What makes the internship experience valuable from the student
perspective?
- An increase in responsibilities and project complexity as aptitude
increases (interns generally understand that they will be expected
to do their fair share of menial tasks but appreciate all important
and enlightening projects that are thrown their way).
- Understanding the importance of any given task within the organization.
(e.g. the site supervisor may ask the intern to enter mutual fund
data into a spreadsheet. What is this data? Why is it necessary
to enter it into the spreadsheet this way versus another? Who
is going to look at the spreadsheet? What can he or she conclude
just by looking at it?)
- Ultimately the student wants to be able to accurately gauge
what working in the field he or she is interning in would entail.
(“Is this something I see myself doing? What do I like about
this profession? What new skills do I need to acquire to be a
strong candidate for full-time employment in this field? Is there
a better fit for me elsewhere?”)
- An appreciation for what it takes to be successful in “the
real world”, and how to make the transition from a student
mindset to a professional mindset. This includes communications,
attendance, dress, organizational behavior, etc.
- Chance to network, to learn how people can get experience that
leads to jobs and a career path. Specifically, the development
of a mentoring relationship that may be used for informal guidance,
and specifically as a reference.
Pay-offs:
- A corner office with a view of downtown, a caseload of one’s
own, great pay, and a company car. Or...just the pay...or even
some form of compensation for expenses related to the internship
(e.g. transportation).
- Special training/educational opportunities such as attending
seminars or conferences.
- Recognition/acknowledgement, ranging from appreciative comments
to formal events.
- Being included in the system or as a contributing member of
the team. Supervisors should encourage interns to propose their
ideas and comments and ask questions as this can help inspire
increased effort and production from the intern. Allowing the
intern opportunities for positive contribution will likely increase
the value of the internship experience.
• Meaningful, substantial work for which the intern feels
a sense of ownership and pride.
• Food.
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