Are Work Experience Internships Worthwhile?
With the economy trying its hardest to recover and national cuts being prominent in the coming future, now is not an excellent time to be lost in the land of unemployment. Many are now choosing to explore different fields of work and consider taking on an internship.
Many internships offer excellent opportunities, some resulting in jobs, others the chance to learn and get an insight into their chosen industry. However many ask, in this economic climate, are internships really that useful… are companies just getting interns in to do free labour?
PR Weekly recently discussed PR internships and the number of graduates that are eager to get into the industry by working for free. The question posed by the article was whether internships offer opportunity or exploitation? Out of the interviews conducted the most useful and positive internship experience came from the ‘year in industry’ that many universities offer as part of their courses. Negative experiences included placements where interns were expected to be the office ‘dogsbody making the coffee’ or were left to their own devices without learning anything. The Legal status around whether interns should be paid or not is still unclear, PR weekly reports, interns should be paid minimum wage but many companies avoid this by taking interns on a ‘voluntary’ basis.
The New York Times reported a similar thing, “Many regulators say that violations are widespread, but that it is unusually hard to mount a major enforcement effort because interns are often afraid to file complaints. Many fear they will become known as troublemakers in their chosen field, endangering their chances with a potential future employer.”
Careers counsellors, employers and others have long advertised the importance for students to work on one or more internships during their studies. A recent survey by Vault.com shows that almost 86% of college graduates reported completing at least one internship, and more than 69% reported completing two or more internships.
Randall S. Hansen of Quint Career.com believes that a successful internship is a great way to enhance your chances of finding a successful job. They provided the following helpful list to refer to when on an internship:
- Set personal goals
- Have regular meetings with your supervisor
- Tackle all tasks with enthusiasm and a positive attitude
- Avoid negativity
- Never shun a chance to learn more about the company/industry
- Get as much exposure as possible
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions
- Take initiative
- Find a mentor
- Network, network, network
- Leave with tangible accomplishments
- Enjoy yourself
Yellow Cat Recruitment believes that completing an internship is a fantastic opportunity to learn. We believe they give candidates a different kind of confidence that education can’t provide and are a valuable experience that everyone should consider either during or just after their studies. We also believe that intern exploitation is wrong. We advise that you learn a lot about the company and exactly what you will be doing before agreeing to join them.
by Emma Lowe of Yellow Cat Recruitment