An internship is a form of experiential learning that gives students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths; give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent.
To understand the reasons why you should do an internship, let’s quickly look at the two types of internship
Academic Internships are normally part of an educational program and involve the award of academic credit. This internship includes a learning plan that is structured alongside course work, including objectives, reflection and assessment.
A non-academic internship also involves learning, but this learning is not integrated into an academic course or other university learning experience. You may apply for an internship at a company without enrolling in an internship course if you choose. Students on F-1 Visas must meet specific eligibility requirements in order to complete an internship.
Why should I do an internship?
An internship is a great opportunity for you to develop your technical and transferrable skills in a professional environment, build your resume, develop a professional network of connections, and even get a job offer. An internship provides an avenue to gain many new skills needed for fieldwork.
Aside, the main purpose of an internship is to help you transition from being in school to being a professional – whether that includes graduate school, paid work in the student’s chosen field, and/or volunteer work.
Another reason why you should an internship is; it is also a good opportunity to build on and develop some of your on-job soft skills. An internship provides a platform that can help you decide on or opt-out of a certain vocation, or even change your educational path
Another advantage of doing Internships is that it provides you with an opportunity to gain experience in a field of your choosing and an opportunity to confirm your interest in a particular career or even a specific company. Depending on the circumstances, an internship may be paid or unpaid.
During the academic internship, students often create a network of new contacts while gaining school credit. As you explore your internship opportunities, keep in mind that many internships have requirements and may vary in academic credit offered
How to apply for an internship
You can apply for an internship without experience; at least, that’s the whole purpose of an internship, to gain experience. There are different ways to apply for an internship and the easiest is by creating a Google alert. But before you create the alert;
- List down your skills and the skills you will like to acquire during your internship.
- Make a list of organisations you would like to intern. For example, if you would like to intern in IT firms, make a list of IT firm that has the kind of services and products you need to gain experience.
- You can also apply for an internship by contacting the companies with a brief or resume or intent. You can do this on the company website, LinkedIn or through internship focused websites.
- You can also apply for an internship by contacting your friends or relatives or acquaintances who work for the companies you will like to intern and asking them to put you across the HR. If you have no contacts in the company, you can look for people on LinkedIn and ask them for a referral.