Although internships are a fantastic way to begin a relationship with an organization, job seekers (and employers, for that matter!) need to approach the world of internships with open eyes as to some of the benefits–and risks–associated with internship programs in the modern world.
iCIMS Hire Expectations Institute proprietary research, as presented by my colleague Holly DeMuro in an article titled “Getting the Best Internships to Support Your Career,” illustrates one key fact that college students and entry-level professionals may want to know about internships:
On average, more than 6% of a company’s “new hires” were already working with the company in an alternate capacity before they were hired full time. This means that an internship has a huge potential for landing you a job there in the future.
And, although want-to-be interns might not know the actual percentage of intern-to-full-time conversion overall or for their particular “employer,” many individuals certainly approach internships or contract work with an organization hoping that the organization may consider them for a full-time position down the road. This helps explain another one of the Hire Expectations Institute’s findings from their proprietary research:
In 2013, for example, the word “intern” was THE most frequently searched term on companies’ career pages and the term “internship” was the fourth most frequently searched term. Obviously, that tells us that there are a lot of people looking for internships!
Although I am extremely passionate about the resources the Hire Expectations Institute makes available to job seekers and employers, I came into Starbucks this afternoon planning to write about literature or poetry. What has me thinking about internships on a Saturday when I could be contemplating books instead?
One of my friends posted a link to the New York Times Parenting Blog post, “The Camp Counselor vs. the Intern,” in which a concerned parent publicly explores his daughter’s desire to continue serving as a camp counselor rather than take a professional internship.
Like it or not, a summer internship — indeed, more than one — has become de rigueur for a college student. That is a big reason why her camp, like others, has had an increasingly difficult time retaining experienced counselors. Whatever she wants to do upon graduation — right now, the uncomfortably tentative plan is to make documentary films — I insisted that those reviewing my daughter’s work experience will be decidedly unimpressed with “Camp Counselor, 2009-2012.”
I’m not worried about this man’s daughter, and here’s why: She knows the value in what she is doing, which makes me suspect that she’ll be able to pitch the value in her resume or cover letter to her next potential employer:
“What I do there matters,” she insisted. In several conversations, she told us about helping a camper cope with her mother’s debilitating depression and comforting others whose parents were fighting or separating, about aiding 11- and 12-year-olds who were coming to terms with their sexuality, battling anorexia, confronting body fear. She talked about the many hours devoted to water-skiing lessons, about instilling the confidence needed by awkward, gawky, painfully self-conscious 8- and 9-year-olds to stay prone in the water, hold on to the rope, then rise up and stay on their feet as the boat pulled away. “What’s more important than that?” she asked.
Now, I think (paid) internships are great. (I think unpaid internships put employers at serious risk under minimum wage laws and that employers should be VERY cautious about creating unpaid internship programs to minimize risk.) Since the economic recovery, some of my friends have been part of really wonderful internship programs: they’ve been paid decent wages, given the training they need to be prepared for a full-time job in their field, and ultimately were brought on full-time at the employer who provided their internship.
I also think other professional experience is great, and that any employer who doesn’t “get” why this college student wanted to make a meaningful difference with her summer experience won’t be a good fit for her. I do appreciate that, in recognition of the student’s ultimate professional goal, her father asks her to create a film while at camp (although his skepticism that being a counselor is a good choice is clear in his writing):
My wife and I wouldn’t have been able to stop her from returning to camp, but our approval was important to her, so eventually I gave in, with the proviso that she agree to make a documentary film about camping.
I have never been a camp counselor, but I was a Resident Assistant during college, and here are just some of the transferable skills I picked up during my experience:
Now, for most young people today, the world doesn’t boil down to these two options and only these options. Some job seekers who can’t get hired as camp counselors may land excellent internships. Some young people will need to make alternate plans when all of their job applications fall through for a particular summer. Some will hold down multiple jobs or internships simultaneously. As far as I can see, here’s the trick:
Any transferable skills to add to the list? Agree or disagree with these priorities? Leave a comment with your thoughts!