Debby Stoler: Internships key to helping you find right job

Are you trying to decide whether you REALLY need that internship before you graduate? Is the idea of spending one or more summers working full time not as appealing as just hanging out and enjoying the leisure time between semesters? Why should you work in the area of your major before you actually graduate?

Consider the following three situations as you think about these questions.

Ben

Ben, a marketing major, took a paid summer internship before his senior year with ABC Company. They needed someone to work on a two-month advertising campaign to launch a new product. He was able to work from beginning to end on the project with two other experienced company employees, sharing and implementing strategies that made the product launch successful.

The company offered Ben the chance to continue his internship through his senior year. They were willing to work around his school schedule. Upon graduation, he could immediately begin full-time, permanent employment with ABC Company.

Ben went into his senior year knowing he already had a job in his field upon graduation with a company that was familiar and comfortable for him.

Julie

At the end of her freshman year, Julie was still undecided in her major. She felt pressured to go into sales. Her dad was a salesman with a very successful career, and Julie did want to be successful. She happened to see an internship opportunity that would allow her to try her hand at outside sales.

Being rather shy, Julie was uncomfortable meeting people, much less trying to convince them to buy her product. After two weeks, she and her supervisor consulted and mutually decided this was not the career for her.

Julie met with a career advisor that summer and discovered that her love of children and extreme talent in art would lend itself to a wonderful career as an art teacher. Julie started her sophomore year in a whole new major, grateful that through the early internship and some good career coaching, she was headed down the right career path for her.

Matthew

Being a math whiz was Matthew's claim to fame. He loved to crunch numbers and work with spread sheets and forecasting. When he got to college, accounting was a no-brainer as his major. He breezed through even the tough courses each semester and happily took summers off to relax and hang with friends.

He didn't have to work and, with a 3.9 GPA, felt he was a sure thing upon graduation for an accounting firm looking for bright, young talent. Why not enjoy this last few years of "freedom"?

Two months before graduation, he began applying to some of the local accounting firms. Time after time, he was told by these firms that they had two or three interns that were graduating and they had already offered them full-time positions. Somehow, his ambition and grades were not working for him as quickly as he planned. He eventually got a good job with a reputable firm, but it was several months after graduation and after being beat out by classmates who had done one or more internships while they were in school.

Get the picture? Internships can play a vital role in your career path, whether confirming that you are on the right career track, helping you see that you need to re-evaluate your career plan, or providing valuable experience that will get you noticed by employers and speak volumes on your resume.

Marshall University Career Services can help with your professional development in many ways. Look to us for:

Career assessment and advising

Resume development

Mock interviews

Professional skill development

Job search assistance (part-time, full-time and internships)

We are.....Getting the Herd Hired!

Debby Stoler is the assistant director of development and outreach at Marshall University Career Services. She can be reached at 304-696-6679 or stolerd@marshall.edu.