The Many Benefits of Summer 2019 Internships
These days, it seems that everyone has a different vision of what internships involve, as well as their influence on a person’s educational and professional career. However, one thing is clear—obtaining professional work experience during your summer break is an effective way to stand out from the crowd when it comes to seeking your first job out of college.
Opportunities for summer 2019 internships are filling quickly, so now is the time to start thinking about how you’ll spend your summer months. Here are some of the benefits you could enjoy by locking down an internship opportunity.
Learn More About Your Dream Job
When it comes to internships, most people focus on the benefits of gaining work experience and boosting their résumés. But internships offer another meaningful benefit: The ability to try out a job before committing to a specialized degree plan or career path. This can save a considerable amount of time (and money)!
Whether you’re studying engineering or art history, a variety of jobs are available in every degree path—and not every option may be an equally good fit for you. Internships can give you insight into which aspect of your degree path you want to focus on. It’s common for students to discover a different job in the same general field (or a totally different interest) during their summer internships.
Gain Valuable Professional Experience
Whether you’re laser-focused on your dream career path or still exploring all of your options, internship experience is valuable on a résumé and in the classroom. In particular, summer internships help keep your mind sharp while school is out of session, all while giving you practical insight into how your coursework applies to your career path.
You’ll also learn what people with similar degrees do for a living. Working alongside individuals who have chosen a similar career path (and learning from their successes and mistakes) provides you with valuable professional experience. Plus, you’ll feel more prepared to enter the workforce after graduation; you’ll have a better understanding of the day-to-day responsibilities of a job in your field as well as what skills you need to succeed.
Make Influential Connections
It’s wise to find contacts across your industry who can help you grow personally and professionally. Whether it’s a peer who’s a couple of years older, the president of the company, or a hiring manager at a place you’d love to work, summer internships help you expand your network.
Through this experience, you have the chance to develop a network of professional contacts, which can give you an edge when applying for jobs. Additionally, colleagues from your internship can act as personal references, and may even be able to help you find other professional opportunities. Based on your performance and the company’s available positions, some internships can even turn into job offers!
It’s also common to meet potential mentors through an internship. You can ask them questions about the industry and their experience, and seek their advice on picking classes, future internships, and jobs. These relationships can prove to be incredibly invaluable.
How to Find an Internship
It’s never too early to start researching employers that offer summer internships to college students, but most companies begin seeking summer interns and reviewing applications in early spring. If you’re looking to identify good opportunities for summer 2019 internships, now is a great time to start looking.
Most college campuses offer resources and assistance to help you find an internship. For instance, at Azusa Pacific University, students can leverage the Career Center in their pursuit. This is a free resource available to all APU students, which helps connect them with influential members of the campus community and find professional opportunities. They can also offer guidance around refining course loads to increase the odds of landing a dream internship and, ultimately, a dream job.
Hoping to learn more about available internship opportunities? Explore the many resources offered through the Career Center, such as a one-on-one meeting with an experienced Career Consultant.
Posted: May 14, 2019