If you have been thinking about an internship while pursuing your degree, you have the right idea in mind. Speaking purely from statistics, employers constantly point to internship experience as one of the most important points in their hiring process.
In other words, if you work an internship that is closely related to what you want to do when you graduate you have almost doubled your chances to get hired.
The simple fact of getting valuable interaction with people working in the industry is absolutely priceless. You will be able to see first hand what it takes to be successful in your field and, most importantly, you will be able to practice the skills that you will need to be successful.
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The type of knowledge and skills learned here are impossible to learn in the classroom and would be the perfect complement to what you are learning in school.
Imagine being able to prepare finances, work with actual spreadsheets used everyday in business, and interact in business meetings with the big dogs in the company. There is just no way you could get that experience in a regular classroom. Toss in the fact that you could get paid, and there really is no reason for you not to take on an internship.
Another great reason is the fact that internships usually revolve around your time between classes. Your college should have a place that you can go and apply for these internships and they will give you all the details needed to land the job. In other words, they take care of all the hard work for you and match you with a potential employer that will help you succeed in the future. Most of the time, the people doing this will be located in your college’s career center. Check there first and they will be able to point you in the right direction.
The final benefit, and possibly the most valuable one, is the fact that some employers actually take interns, prepare them while they graduate, and guarantee them a prime position in their company after graduation. This is an invaluable tool if you could land it! You would start learning the ins and outs of your job while in college and will still be paid for it most of the time. Companies like this because they can groom their employee at a young age and assure the quality of their work when they are hired as a full-time employee after graduation. The best part is most of these internships guarantee you a very nice spot with a company, possibly as a junior executive or something along those lines. What does this mean for you? It means that you will be guaranteed a well-paying job after graduation without needing to seek one out yourself!
You should be realizing by now the true value and purpose of an internship. If you are truly interested, swing by your career center when you have a chance and ask for more details about a potential internship opportunity pertaining to your major.