reasons why university internships are awesome

reasons why university internships are awesome

We live in a time where your degree alone isn’t enough to help you stand out from the crowd in a competitive job seeking market.

There may be hundreds if not thousands of other grads applying for the same role, so it’s important to think about how you can shine the brightest on your job application. One way to do that is to become an intern.

At INTO Saint Louis University, we believe in the power of internships. You can get a feel for your chosen industry and learn more about what really interests you. Here are seven awesome reasons why you should consider getting an internship.

To gain experience

Most college students lack professional experience. Internships are one of the best ways to develop and gain that experience because you get to do a bit of everything!

You get to see and experience the different roles that people play in certain companies and see working life from different perspectives. This is good to take into the working world with you because at times, you will be asked to do various tasks involving different elements of the company.

This way, you would have already had a go at things and understood how to multitask.

To have a better understanding

An internship allows you to take time to understand your role, tasks and the industry. Internships want you to leave knowing more than you came in with, and this is most likely the outcome.

As a student, you can take this opportunity to understand each task you are given and every new tool you use. Our best advice: be sure to write things down, ask questions and do things repeatedly to make sure you are doing everything with 100% effort.

Have the opportunity to learn and watch

You can learn from the best during an internship. People will be watching over you and working closely with you on projects so that you have someone to look up to and a role to work towards.

Perhaps you will learn new skills from these people and new things about the industry that you didn’t know before.

Communication and interaction are key, so ask plenty of questions and don’t be afraid to propose new ideas.

Gain the ability to put new things into practice

You can try out new skills and tools without the pressure of being wrong. Internships are a time to experiment. The people who hire you for that internship know that you’re at the beginning of your career.

They expect you to learn from your mistakes and use this as motivation to get better at the things you were not so great at before.

You will be able to take these new skills, insights and lessons learned to your next job and find a way to incorporate them into any tasks you are given.

Build confidence

Whether it be public speaking, giving presentations or simply suggesting new ideas, internships will help you build your confidence before entering the workforce. Confidence is key because if you don’t believe in yourself…who will?

While it’s important to stay humble, you do want to be able to express your ideas confidently to give off strong credibility when making your first impression in an interview and later on the job.

Before you know it, you will have the peace of mind that your skills will be ready for what comes after graduation day…after a lot of practice during your internship.

It goes to show, practice makes perfect!

To get a feel for different industries

Internships are usually for three to six months. This allows you to get a feel for different industries in a small period.

If you spend three months in PR then three months in marketing, you get to know the difference in content, how they work and why they work.

This will help in your overall career path if you are unsure of what to do in the future, or are stuck between two options.

You also pick up a wider variety of skills when working in different industries which can make you more attractive to employers and hiring managers.

To communicate

Internships require you to both work individually and within a team. You learn to communicate in new ways to build professional working relationships with people of all ages.

This is great because it allows you to be open to other people’s ideas and to get creative in a team to build better ideas and ultimately, to build a better company.