5 Reasons Why an Internship Is Important For Your Future Career

We see it all the time -when applying for a job you need experience in order to get more experience. But how do you break into the job market to start earning that experience? For young adults, this is one of the biggest struggles they face when it comes to transitioning from college into the workforce. One option that can help college students earn experience is an internship. Internships help students build experience while they are still attending a school or are about to graduate. The question is, are internships worth pursuing?

Employers are looking at hundreds of resumes and searching for relevant work history that corresponds with the job the applicant is applying for. The work history can come in the ways of internships, volunteer work, or actual job experience.

When a college student is looking to enter the workforce, a practical work background will carry a huge significance. Competition for job positions is huge and the person who offers the best experience will land the job first.

College students need to remember that they are not only competing against each other to gain a coveted position in a company, but the company is also competing against similar businesses for a competitive advantage. With this being said, even your best friend from college has become competition when you enter the workforce.

To gain experience and give yourself a slight advantage, looking for an internship after or during college is the best bet for college students. Landing an internship over the summer can make a huge difference in winning a job opportunity or losing it.

In case you are still not convinced, here is a list of 5 reasons why an internship is important for your future career:

1. Get Connected and Develop a Professional Network

Networking is an important component to developing your career; it is all about who you know. Having an internship will allow you to exchange information between people, it helps you establish acquaintances and relationships that will only help your career in the future.

While networking events are great, an internship will help you build better relationships without the cost of limiting yourself, since networking events are few and far between and only limited to certain fields of careers Internships Provide Real-Life Experience and Exposure

As a college student, you should be looking for an internship in a field that will be beneficial for your career. This will help you gain first-hand experience and exposure working in the “real world” of your chosen field.

An internship for college students also gives you the opportunity to achieve a level of education that you can’t get in a classroom or lecture hall. Internships teach you how to be a young professional in a specific industry and in companies that you may want to one day work in.

Participating in an internship gives college students the opportunity to try something new. If the internship requires you to move or travel, you might want to consider taking advantage of the chance to break out of your usual routine, which can be limiting. Attempting something new by accepting an internship will help expose you to new people in a controlled and stable environment.

An internship may seem scary, but it will help you gain training, and experience assignments and duties without the added pressures of a full-time job. Internships also give college students a nice learning curve by providing insight and experience in the professional world.

2. Help Improve Your Cover Letter

Your resume is a vital piece of information about yourself and it affects how someone may perceive you. Most people automatically go to the thought of landing the job but don’t think about landing an interview. Interviews are equally as important since you can elaborate on why you deserve the role of working with the company you’re interviewing with.

When employers get your resume, the first thing they are looking for is an experience. Internships are a great way to enhance your resume by proving you have relevant experience. Employers see that you have spent time in an internship, and it shows what your value is worth.

When you build your resume, make sure to include specific task and projects you have worked on during your internship. These projects and tasks will enhance your resume by showing prior experience that can be applied to the job for which you are applying.

3. Move Into a Full-Time Position

Working full-time can be a big life change and challenging to someone who hasn’t experienced it before. On top of that, when you graduate from college and immediately head into a new job position, you’re the most vulnerable when it comes to layoffs under the “last hired, first fired” approach.

The stress of working full-time can cause someone to make mistakes, and not all bosses are kind when mistakes happen. Being able to adapt quickly to your new job is important and an internship will give you that experience to work on adapting to the expectations of a full-time position.

An internship gives you the ability to showcase your talent and commitment to a potential new employer. Interns are often hired on by the company they’ve been working for at the end of the internship period because the company has invested time and money to train interns properly and they are familiar with the company culture, policies, and procedures.

4. Learn More About Yourself

Participating in an internship program after college will not only help you career-wise but also help your personal development and give you a better understanding of self. Heading into an internship in your respective field may help open your eyes and realize what your goals are.

Internships allow you to decide whether you want to continue in the field you’re studying or maybe take a step back and try something else.

After reading these points, I think we can all agree that grabbing an internship job while you’re in college is a valuable asset to anyone. Not only will it help you in the future with your career, but it will also help open your eyes to make sure you are choosing the right career before you invest further time or money in preparing for it.

There are hundreds of resources online that you can look at to help you choose the right internship, or you can go to your college counselor and ask for some help.