In this article, we will discuss in depth about importance of Internships for college students, types of internships and how to find one.
What is an Internship?
An internship is a short-term work experience offered by companies to potential employees. These potential employees are mostly college students. Such employees are called Interns. The interns get some entry-level exposure in their fields. Internship duration varies from company to company, but in most cases, it lasts for 1 to 4 months.
Internship is a very popular choice in India when it comes to under-graduation and graduation students to gain valuable industry experience. But sadly, most students miss such a great opportunity during their college days.
Before knowing more about why internships are important for college students, let’s first see the types of internships.
Types of Internships
Internships can be categorized into 2 types:
- Part-time
Some companies provide part-time internship opportunities. In this type, companies will allow their interns to work for limited working hours. For example, suppose a company’s working hours are 40 hours per week, then the part-time internship will be 20 or 25 hours per week. The part-time internship can either be a paid or unpaid. In paid internship, the interns will receive monthly stipend (for interns the word “salary” is termed as “stipend”). Depending on the company policies, few internships can be unpaid too. - Full-time
The full-time internship allows their interns to work as per company working hours. It means the interns will work at the same time as other employees. The full-time internship can either be paid or unpaid depending on the company policies.
Importance of Internship for college students
In such a competitive world, college teachings are not enough. Whether, pursuing Engineering, B. Com, B.A., BMS, etc., an internship will add a plus point in a student’s career. As an intern, they get a chance to work side by side with industry professionals and gain practical experiences.
Ask this question to yourself – will companies prefer to hire those with just theoretical experience or those with both theoretical and practical work experience? Take a moment to think about it.
Doing that one summer internship is an advantageous option for college students. It’s all about competition nowadays.
Here are some other facts stating the importance of internships for college students:
1. Exposure to real world
In today’s world, just scoring higher marks and getting a degree isn’t sufficient to succeed in a workspace. During college days, internships provide students with a great place to apply their classroom skills to real-world experience.
Not only interning will help the company, but the advice and feedback which the company experts give will be worth it. In colleges, professors will guide the students about theories and knowledge about projects. Whereas the internships will provide opportunities for industry work exposure and receiving feedback from those with enough industry experience.
2. Explore career path
Internship will not only gain experience, but it will also help students to explore more about their industry. Internships offer students to know more about their interests in their field. Thus allowing students to decide which job role is suitable or whether to pursue further studies in future.
3. Personal development
During an internship, students can learn a lot about their strengths and weaknesses. It offers a unique opportunity to learn from their mistakes and learn from other employees as well. Also, they will develop knowledge of workplace collaboration, business protocols, communication tactics, employee relations, leadership structure, boosts their confidence and many other benefits.
During the college ending days, students with internship experience will provide a competitive edge and they will be well prepared to face the outside world.
4. Develop professional networks
The interns will be surrounded by many professionals from their field. Apart from learning and gaining valuable experience, internships offer the interns to learn from other people, ask questions and impress them. Being an intern allows building professional connections with company experts that can be very beneficial in the future. These professionals might become their future colleagues or connection to their first job.
5. Builds a compelling resume
The first thing that companies look for in any job applicant is their resume. Most of the companies hiring prefer some sort of professional experience. An internship will provide that edge over other candidates. So make sure to have at least one internship experience before leaving college. Thus combining college theoretical knowledge, assignment work, project work and internship experience in the resume will make that student stand out from the crowd.
6. Transition into a full-time Job
Some companies use internships as a way for their recruitments. Sometimes, companies may decide to provide a full-time job opportunity to potential interns. Since the companies have invested their time and efforts to train the interns, they always look for those interns who match their company’s requirements. In this way, some college students can land their first job even before their college ends.
Not to worry much if a company doesn’t hire their interns. There might be a possibility that the company doesn’t need any new employees at that time. Later, when college ends, students can apply for that same company where they were interning or might look for other job opportunities.
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How to find an Internship?
Here are the 3 ways to find an internship opportunity for college students:
- Using college’s career section
Students can go to their college’s career center and figure out ways to take a part in on-campus recruitments. Many colleges have connections with companies. Also, such companies prefer to hire college students for an internship or even provide a permanent job opportunity. Thus students should use their college connections and take advantage of such opportunities. - Go online
There are many resources online to find an internship. In India, many popular applications help to get one, such as LinkedIn and Internshala. Narrow down the search as per particular internship/job profile name, such as “project management internship”, “web development internship”, “software engineer internship”, “graphic design internship”, “data analysis internship”, etc. - Checking company websites
Students can also check for company websites related to their industry. Look at the company’s career page for what type of internship or job opportunities they offer. On every company website, on the “contact us” page, HR phone number and email-id are mentioned. Students seeking an internship can directly call or send their resume on that email-id mentioning their interest in an internship opportunity at that company.
Conclusion:
Thus, it concludes the importance of internships for college students. Students should take advantage of getting an internship while in college. Internship plays a critical role in shaping a student’s career. It will not only helps students to apply their college education in the practical world but also helps them to develop the necessary skills required in the job market.
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