You may have the best resume, the best recommendations, and the best grades. But the fact is, that without an internship and valuable real-world, practical experience to leverage, you’re not going to get very far in your quest to find that job you really want.

Nowadays, Bachelor’s degrees are commonplace, and even Masters grads are having trouble getting a decent job.  You need that extra ‘something’ that will help you stand out from everyone else, something that will allow you to be heard… that something is an internship.

Everyone knows, in this economy, finding a job can be a real challenge, and when faced with the opportunity, almost all careers will require experience.  It’s a tough dichotomy… you need the job to get the experience, but you need the experience to get the job.  This seemingly impossible situation does have a remedy through internships.  It gives you experience that will open doors for you.  Not only do internships contribute substantially to your resume and portfolio, but you’ll have an awesome network of people once you have finished.

Who Does Internships

Typically, college juniors, seniors and post-grad masters program students will apply and successfully complete their internship, receiving valuable course credit in addition to practical experience.  In the increasing complexity of the job market, we’re finding more and more young people at the beginning of their careers with college and grad school behind them applying just to get their foot in the door of the company or the industry of their desired field.  No matter when it happens, an internship is one of the smartest things you can possibly do to separate yourself from every other job seeker.

Additionally, an internship will allow you to experience the culture of that career and allow you to decide if it’s really something you will enjoy. Not only will you be able to make use of the skills you have already learned in college, but while participating in an internship program, you will pick up great skills that will help you in the future.  Another thing to consider is that as soon as a position opens in the company you’re interning for, many times, interns and people on the inside will have the first chance to get it before it even becomes available publicly.  This is a very likely scenario in growing companies, and ours is no exception.

Watch Out for These Pitfalls

This all sounds rosy, doesn’t it?   Of course it does – but there is always a darker side to everything that you need to at least be aware of.  All internships are not created equally.  Many times you’ll find a company that just wants free labor and doesn’t really have much of a program for you.  You’ll want to avoid those if you can, because the best internships are the ones that give as much as they ask in return.

What you most want is a well-laid out program with certain objectives and tasks that you’ll be given the chance to learn by the conclusion of your internship.  When you’re looking for your ideal internship, it’s OK to ask these questions on your interview to make sure you’re BOTH going to be happy campers:

1. What are the types of projects will I be given?
2. What kind of hands-0n training and mentoring can I expect?
3. How important is the work I’m going to be given?
4. What’s the best way I can contribute to your company?  Hopefully this question will engender a mutual response from the employer that will show how they are committed to what YOU are getting out of the experience too.
5. Will you fill out course credit paperwork for me?
6. At the end of your internships, what kind of ongoing relationships do you have with your students?
7. Are there opportunities within the company to grow into an employed staff member at the conclusion of my internship?

At the end of the day, an internship, whether you’re in college or have graduated, is really a win-win situation.  If you’re still in school, be sure to seek out your career counselor and employ Google to help you find the right internship for you.  If you’re already out of school, use your network and who you know to see what doors can open to you.  You’d be amazed what solidly closed doors suddenly become open when someone can “try before they buy” with a potential employee.

Internships at Vision Advertising

Interning with our company rocks.  That’s pretty much the short and long of it right there.  You get a ton of experience, and something substantial to be proud of and refer back to.  You also get a very tight group of people that will work hard to help you sell yourself to your dream employer, or maybe we’ll just hire you ourselves if we can.  Read more about our internships here.

Sound like something you’re interested in? If you’re living in or around Worcester and are looking for a hands-on marketing internship for the next semester, then send your info our way or apply online right now. We’re always accepting applications from energetic students with a can-do attitude to temporarily (and hopefully permanently) be a part of the team here at Vision Advertising.