Finding that Ideal Internship

An internship can easily set one's career on the right track. By gaining valuable working experience while in college, many students have found themselves able to find better employment post-graduation. The difficultly comes in finding the right kind of internship to fit one's goals and deciding between one's options.

Before looking for internships one should outline their interest and professional goals. One should also be aware of the amount of time they will be able to commit to the position. Many internships require that one work a certain number of hours a week. If one can not fulfill that criteria, then that options should be eliminated from their list.

Getting outside input can also make the decision easier. After outlining one's career goals, it is a good idea to schedule an appointment with an academic adviser. These individuals are extremely knowledgeable in their chosen fields and are often know about options that one might not have considered. If one already has a list of they are considering, an adviser will most likely be able to say which would look best when listed on a resume.

In your job search, it is extremely important to remember to start searching early. There are countless number of students all looking for positions and therefore the good ones get snatched up quickly. One should also apply for more than one position. This way one will have a better pool of options from which to pick. Additionally, with background checks becoming more and more of an issue, make sure your digital footprint is clean.

A source that can help one come up with companies to apply for internships with is The Princeton Review's Best Entry-Level Jobs. A large majority of the companies listed offer internships to students. According to the writers, Rob Lieber and Tom Meltzer, the businesses listed were chosen because The Princeton Review “wanted to find places where people were happy, engaged with their work, nicely compensated, well positioned for advancement, getting great preparation for graduate school or benefiting from any combination of these things.” Many of the companies listed in the 2008 edition often recruit their interns after they have finished their education.