Lesson 4

INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Learning Objectives:

After reading this INFORMATION SHEET, you should be able to:

 define internship;
 discuss the different types internship;
 learn some benefits of internship;

An internship is a professional learning experience that offers meaningful,

practical work related to a student’s field of study or career interest. An
internship gives a student the opportunity for career exploration and
development, and to learn new skills. It offers the employer the opportunity to
bring new ideas and energy into the workplace, develop talent and potentially
build a pipeline for future full-time employees.

A quality internship:

 Consists of a part-time or full-time work schedule that includes no more

than 25% clerical or administrative duties.

 Provides a clear job/project description for the work experience.

 Orients the student to the organization, its culture and proposed work
assignment(s).

 Helps the student develop and achieve learning goals.

 Offers regular feedback to the student intern.

Student Interns Expect:

 To gain real work experience and provide meaningful assistance to the

company.

 To have a mentor who provides guidance, feedback, receptiveness and

models professionalism.

 To gain experience and skills in a particular field.

 To develop professional contacts.

 To gain exposure to upper management.

 To receive an orientation to the company for which they are interning.

This introduces the student to the company’s mission and goals and
provides them with information about company rules, regulations and
procedures. It also introduces the intern to fellow employees who they
can go to in the future with questions.

Benefits of Hiring an Intern:

 Ease workload of regular employees

 Enable employees to focus on higher level tasks

 Meet short-term staffing needs

 Complete “Priority C” tasks/projects

 Utilize a cost effective employment strategy

 Obtain access to highly motivated students who can fill staffing needs

 Complete finite projects

 Develop a pipeline of future employees

 Prepare tomorrow’s workforce

 Inject enthusiasm and fresh ideas into your organization

 Provide practical learning opportunities to students

  Take advantage of students’ tech and social media savvy

Types of Internship

Internships exist in a wide variety of industries and settings. An internship can

be paid, unpaid, or partially paid (in the form of a stipend Internships may
be part-time or full-time and are usually flexible with students' schedules. A
typical internship lasts between one and four months, but can be shorter or
longer, depending on the organization involved. The act of job shadowing may
also constitute interning.

 Insights: Many large corporations, particularly investment banks, have

"insights" programs that serve as a pre-internship event numbering a
day to a week, either in person or virtually.
 Paid internships are common in professional fields
including medicine, architecture, science, engineering, law, business
(especially accounting and finance), technology, and advertising.[11] Work
experience internships usually occur during the second or third year of
schooling. This type of internship is to expand an intern's knowledge
both in their school studies and also at the company. The intern is
expected to bring ideas and knowledge from school into the company.
 Work research, virtual research (graduation) or dissertation: This is
mostly done by students who are in their final year of school. With this
kind of internship, a student does research for a particular company.
The company can have something that they feel they need to improve, or
the student can choose a topic in the company themselves. The results of
the research study will be put in a report and often will have to be
presented.[13]
 Unpaid internships are typically through non-profit charities and think
tanks which often have unpaid or volunteer positions. [5] State law and
state enforcement agencies may impose requirements on unpaid
internship programs under Minimum Wage Act. A program must meet
 criteria to be properly classified as an unpaid internship.
 Partially-paid internships is when students are paid in the form of a
stipend. Stipends are typically a fixed amount of money that is paid out
on a regular basis. Usually, interns that are paid with stipends are paid
on a set schedule associated with the organization.
 Virtual internship growing in popularity, in which the intern works
remotely, and is not physically present at the job location. It provides the
capacity to gain job experience without the conventional requirement of
being physically present in an office. The internship is conducted via
virtual means, such as phone, email, and web communication. Virtual
interns generally have the opportunity to work at their own pace.

Benefits of an Internship

Career Exploration

 Learn about a career field from the inside and decide if this is the right
career field for you
 Work alongside a professional in your chosen career area
 Observe the workplace and see if it matches expectations
 Gain knowledge about a specific industry

Leadership and Skill Development

 Experience - One of the recurring themes in any entry level job search
is lack of experience. "Where do I get experience if no one is willing to
hire me?" The answer is simple: Get an internship!

 Learn new skills and add to your knowledge base while gaining
confidence in your abilities

 Opportunity to practice communication and teamwork skills

  Provide evidence that you have initiative, are reliable, and have a sense
of responsibility

 Apply some of the ideas learned in school and provide a bridge between
school and the professional world

 Achieve a sense of accomplishment by contributing to an organization

 An internship offers you the chance to learn by doing in a setting where

you are supervised by a work-place professional and have the
opportunity to achieve your own learning goals, without the
responsibilities of being a permanent employee.

Networking and Establishing Mentors and References

 Meet new people and practice networking skills while establishing a

network of professional contacts, mentors, and references

 Open to door to advice on the next steps to take on your career path

Resume Enhancements

 Gain valuable experience and accomplishments to add to your resume

and/or enhance your application to graduate school

 Create an advantage over other job or graduate school applicants

 Potential for a full-time job offer at the end of the internship based on
your performance