Internships offer opportunity for the social network
0As the global economy becomes increasingly universal, the competition for good jobs continues to increase. You no longer have to simply be more qualified than the person next to you; you also have to be more qualified than countless others. Going to a college or university is a critical step, but you can enhance classroom learning by gaining real world experience through internships.
According to Jacquelyn Smith and Forbes.com 69 percent of companies with 100 plus employees offered full-time jobs to interns in 2012. It turns out that maybe the easiest way to secure a full-time gig through is an internship.
While some programs require an internship, UPIKE students from all majors are encouraged to seek out these opportunities. From communication, to criminal justice, to social work, internships are available, near and far.
Sarah Belcher, senior, is in the social work program interning at KVC Behavioral Healthcare.
“I really enjoy my intern placement. It challenges me and stretches my skill to another level. It allows me to think critically, ask questions for future concern, and apply knowledge, skills, and values learned in courses at UPIKE. Actually experiencing and utilizing the skills I have learned in the classroom allows me to become a more competent generalist social worker for future fields. It is overall a personal growth as a professional and person. Wonderful experience!” Belcher said.
In addition to gaining experience to complete your classroom learning, college internships allow you to beef up your portfolio or resume and make valuable industry contacts that can be essential to landing the ideal job upon graduation.
“With the vast networking opportunities that exist within the domestic and international arenas, undergraduate and graduate students should take every advantage in securing internships as conduits to gaining competitive advantages within the workplace.” Dr. David A. Smith, associate professor of business, said.
The importance of internships to college students in terms of networking and gaining new resources cannot be understated. College internships are the ultimate social network for job prospects. Remember the old adage, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” In today’s competitive job market, it’s what you know and whom you know that often make the difference. College internships are a great way to address both of those issues at the same time.
If there is one thing you learned on the first day of your freshman year, it was the importance of having resources and the value in knowing how to use them. Having a sense of where to turn when you need something is just as important as having what you need in general. If resourcefulness is a measure of value, then knowing where to turn is more useful than possessing the knowledge first hand. College internships are a turn in the right direction. Building a network of “who-you-knows” through college student internships can pay great dividends upon graduation.
“I feel every student should pursue internships if given the chance because it’s an eye opening experience, and it forces you into situations where you have real-world experiences, not just classroom education,” Thomas Browning, senior, said.
Browning is currently interning at The Washington Center in Washington, DC. UPIKE sends students to a three-component internship program. The program also gives students the opportunity to live in the nation’s capital and experience all it has to offer. The Washington Center is the largest internship facilitator in Washington, D.C. It has more than 52,000 alumni around the world, including UPIKE alumni. The internships are tailored to individual interests. Staff helps students secure internships in such places as a museum, a non-profit assisting the homeless, a bank, with a prosecutor, the Marshal service, or other locations that are as vastly diverse as the students who apply.
“It is important for students to realize that employers want both education and experience, and an internship with The Washington Center will provide you with experience and a work portfolio for use in job interviews. TWC provides a complete package,” Nancy Cade, professor of history and political science, said.
One of the many things that make TWC special is its unique integration of academics with real-world experience. Encompassed by a leadership forum for community strengthening is a bonus for students who can pursue the internship. Also, the academic coursework extends learning while gaining credit through UPIKE.
In addition to internship opportunities in Washington, UPIKE also offers internships in the state capital. The Frankfort Internship program provides students with a semester-long paid internship working with state legislators, lobbyists or state agencies.
“My internship was a life-changing experience. I gained new insight on ideas I previously had not considered or had ever conceived. As a result, I went through a significant change in beliefs, and it has helped me gain experience in other real life situations,” Steve Loader, alumni of the Frankfort Internship, said.
Closer to home, PikeTV is an exciting option for those in film and media arts or communication. The government access channel provides informative television programs that aid in improving the quality of community life. PikeTV is chartered to provide its state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to UPIKE in order to provide students the opportunity to receive hands-on production and post-production experience. What better way to test the waters than by setting up cameras and working with film in an internship?
“I really got a feel for what I wanted to do after college through my internship at PikeTV. The opportunity led to full-time employment for me and the hands-on, real-world experiences the internship provided gave me an idea of how things truly work,” Ronnie Hylton, UPIKE alumnus, said.
By remembering the social aspect of making contacts with people as people while working at college internships, you can help to ensure that, if good contacts are with other organizations by the time you graduate, you will then have an “in” at those other organizations in addition to the organizations where you performed actual college internships.
“Internships are one of the best features in cementing careers as it gives advantages to both the employer and the potential employee. Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, General Motors Corporation, and Apple Corporation have solidified many internship programs that have been very successful,” Smith said.