Becoming an Intern

Being an intern has been both a challenge and a great learning experience. I would highly suggest to all college students to be sure to complete an internship before they graduate.

When you are searching for an internship, my advice is to put your resume on a job search website like careerbuilder.com or monster.com. I received an overwhelming amount of calls from businesses that pulled my resume. I sifted through them and called back the ones that interested me the most. No matter the skepticism you feel, give them a chance. I didn't know what the company I currently intern for was when I first called them back, but they were ready to give me all the information I wanted and I asked enough questions that it eased the uncertainty.

When the company initially called they were looking for a full time employee, but I was already employed and not even looking for other work. I gave it a chance anyways and got to talking with the admin about where I'm at in school and work and what I'm looking for after school. After talking a little she informed me of an opportunity for an internship. I had always heard that I needed an internship sometime in college and I always told myself I would figure all that out my senior year. Now that this opportunity came knocking on my door, I was excited to explore it more and scheduled some meetings to learn more about the company. I'm not one to turn down opportunities so when I was offered the position, I accepted even though I didn't have a very clear idea of what I was getting into.

I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to intern and further my education outside of the classroom and I don't regret taking the chance on an experience that I was unsure about at first. Interning has been a very rich experience. I have learned so much about business, sales, networking, having goals and motivation, teamwork, and so much more. I am lucky enough to receive university credit for my internship, but even if I didn't I would still do it. I have figured out that there are some areas of business that I may not pursue as a career and I've also learned about many aspects that I am interested in.

My advice for anyone looking for an internship is to keep an open mind about the business and position. I think most internships have great knowledge to offer even if it's not exactly the career you want after college. It doesn't have to be a career, that's why it's an internship. Sometimes, you are lucky enough to develop your internship into a career after it's over though so make sure to work hard and make a lasting impression!