How to Find an Internship
Discover One That Fits Your Needs
Internships come in all shapes and sizes. Some are paid and some are unpaid. Some last for a summer while others continue through the school year. A variety of internships are available to students in high school or college.
Although many internships are local, others offer employment abroad. For example, you could help set up video shoots for a local film company, or you could work on an organic banana farm in Costa Rica.
An internship can open the doors to the working world, showing you what it's like to have a boss, attend meetings and meet deadlines. Internships also introduce you to experienced people who can help guide you toward a career.
True Story: Joining an Environmental Organization
After sophomore year, Sufiyan needed something to do for the summer. He also wanted to earn a little money, so he visited his high school career counselor for advice. The counselor suggested a paid internship with a local nonprofit environmental organization.
Sufiyan had never worked in an office before, but he decided to try it. He ended up interning with the organization until he graduated. His duties included clerical work and sometimes pitching in on special projects, such as conducting Internet research on hotels for a conference.
What Sufiyan valued most were the people who taught him new skills. "My supervisors taught me how to behave in an office, how to be organized and how to speak in a professional manner."
He feels these skills will help him in many areas, such as college and job interviews. Sufiyan wants to be a filmmaker, and he says working at an environmental group has helped him appreciate nature and incorporate it into his films.
How to Start Your Search
Start finding the right internship for you by answering these questions:
- What interests you? Do you like photography? Flying? Scientific research? Computers?
- What kind of internship are you looking for? Do you want to work during the summer or the school year?
- Do you need to earn money or could you work for free?
- What do you want out of an internship? If you’d like experience in the legal field, your search should start with law firms, not retail outlets.
Use a Variety of Resources
Employers often advertise internship positions in schools. Ask your high school counselor about these opportunities. You might also find internships through a school club. And don't forget family and friends — your friend's accountant mom might offer you work that gets you started on the road to a career.
If there's a specific company or organization you'd like to work for, don't be afraid to inquire directly. Even if they've never had an intern, you might be able to convince them they need one by being clear about how you could help.
To cast your net even wider, look for recent internship guidebooks in your library’s career or education center. The Internet also provides a wealth of resources, including the ones listed below. Be sure to thoroughly research any organization before participating in its program.
- www.internshipprograms.com lets you browse by employer, field, date and location.
- www.goabroad.com/intern-abroad shows opportunities in different countries.
- www.idealist.org allows you to search for internships at nonprofits such as environmental groups.
- www.volunteerinternational.org lists volunteer opportunities abroad.
True Story: Becoming a Journalist
Kristen wasn't sure she wanted to be a journalist. She liked writing for her high school newspaper and the field seemed exciting, but she didn't know much about it. To learn more, Kristen took an internship at the local newspaper.
Her job was to help out in the office, but she also convinced the editor to let her do some reporting. To her surprise, the editor gave her an assignment right away: report on Friday's high school football game. Kristen wasn't really interested in football, so she spent the game interviewing parents of players. When she typed up her story, she realized she didn't even know the final score! That taught her to make sure she got all the facts, and during her junior and senior years, Kristen covered everything from rodeos to a local burglary.
As an intern in the office, she processed subscription checks, wrote classified ads and worked in the pressroom stuffing advertising inserts into newspapers. She learned every aspect of the newspaper business and decided to major in journalism in college.
Evaluate Opportunities
To make sure you get the most out of your internship, do your research first and ask lots of questions. Find out exactly what your duties are, and who will be teaching you the skills you want to learn. You can even ask to speak to previous interns about their experiences. All this preparation helps ensure that the internship you land is right for you.
Sufiyan thinks every student should try interning. "Go outside your boundaries, outside your neighborhood, do something you've never done before," he says. He also recommends building relationships with those who can teach new skills. "Find someone to learn from," says Sufiyan. That way, no matter what you do, your internship will be worthwhile.
