[Editor’s Note: Laura Jackson is our Grad School Reporter. While she’s pursuing her Master’s at Chatham, she’ll be giving Collegiettes™ advice on everything from finding a job to planning for the future.]
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a first year, sophomore, junior, senior, grad student or new professional; an internship is an essential setup for academic and career success. Despite your freelance work, stunning portfolio and impressive bachelor’s degree, potential employers will continue to ask, “and what type of experience do you have?” Completing an internship (especially during your undergraduate/graduate career) is a great way
to build experience.
Step 1: Decide on the subject you would like to pursue. Do you want your internship experience in the exact field you are studying? Can you settle for an internship in a similar field? For example: even though I have a graphic design background, I believe it’s important to learn about web design and professional writing as well. The smaller-to-mid-sized companies are looking for an employee that can: 1) design the website, 2) code the website and 3) write the body copy. In other words: today’s employee MUST be able to multi-task.
Step 2: Decide on the city/town for your internship. Do you want to get an internship that is in your college town or city? Maybe it’s easier to complete a summer internship back in your hometown. Perhaps a study abroad internship program would be a valuable option. Obviously, there are many variables to consider.
Step 3: Do you want to do you internship either for credit (which means, it will most likely be an UNPAID internship), non-credit (paid or unpaid) or both paid & credit? I highly recommend meeting with Career Services on campus and speaking with an internship supervisor. The Chatham University Internship Supervisor is Emma Johnson; her office is located on the 3rd floor of the library. Career Services will be able to connect you with local and national companies and alumnae.
Let’s review the first three steps of getting an internship:
1) choose a subject for your internship
2) choose the location your internship
3) visit Career Services and decided whether to invest in either an internship for credit, a non-credit internship or a paid & credit internship.
Now that you’ve conquered the first three steps of obtaining an internship, the next step is: researching and applying to internships! These two topics will be discussed in next month’s article. I hope this series will help you land a magnificent internship! Best of luck!