BENEFITS OF AN INTERNSHIP
- An internship can provide a student with paid professional work experience in a safe and structured environment with help from experts. Typically an intern will be assigned a worksite mentor and school based internship coordinator. The worksite mentor will help train a student and advise him or her on how to navigate a particular worksite culture and interact with other workers. The school internship coordinator helps the mentor and student build a strong relationship that will help the intern have positive outcomes from their internship experience. The internship coordinator can also help the student learn how to manage their expectations and implement successful work habits.
- At an internship, a student can practice and improve their industry skills while also learning how to work. Students can gain a better understanding of how what they are learning in school can help them with their future.
- Internships help students master professional soft skills such as communication, punctuality and time management. These are skills that are key for success at a job and college and are highly sought after by companies. Many employers complain that there are few candidates with excellent soft skills.
- At an internship, a student can learn what the roles and responsibilities of a particular career are from people working in the field. What sort of projects do they work on? What skills and knowledge do they need to perform this job? Where did they get their education?
- An internship can be a real confidence builder for a student. Being successful in the real world can inspire a student to work harder at school, and be more willing to take on challenges or be outside of his/her comfort zone.
- Having successfully completed an internship makes a job candidate more attractive to employers. Many companies prefer to hire students who have completed internship programs. This is because many interns have better work habits, possess excellent soft skills, and have higher technical and industry skills since they have received formal job training and professional guidance.
- An internship can help a student start to build a professional network that can be a resource for the student. A network can help a student make well-informed decisions about their career and connect them with other professionals or opportunities that will help a student achieve success in a field.
- Completing an internship also makes a student a more attractive candidate for colleges and scholarships. Having “real world” work experience shows a college or scholarship panel that a student has a clear set of goals that they are actively working towards. Demonstrating commitment and follow through demonstrates a high level of maturity, responsibility, and willingness to do what it takes to be successful.
- An internship can help a student decide if a particular career is a good match for their personality, lifestyle, passions and goals. This way a student can avoid spending time and money on training for a career that does not really suit their abilities or needs.
- By successfully completing an internship, a student can obtain a positive recommendation that can be used for future employers, college admission and scholarship applications.
