Internships are a crucial bridge between academic learning and professional experience, offering you the opportunity to develop your skills in a practical and real-life setting. The process of gaining an internship, however, can be challenging — as not only is the application process competitive, but there is also a lot of choice out there.
This internship guide will cover what they are, the importance of them, the different types of internships, and other practical information to consider. We’ll also briefly discuss how to get an internship that will kickstart your career the right way.
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What is an internship?
An internship is a short-term position that offers individuals, especially college students and school leavers, a way of gaining practical exposure to a particular industry or profession.
Internships are seen as a transition between the academic world and the working world, whereby students get to apply the theories learned in class to real-world environments. As such, internships can be tightly controlled, where the intern will work under the close supervision of an experienced manager and take part in clear entry-level tasks to benefit both them and the organization.
Some examples of tasks can include research, project assistance, completing other work-related tasks, and attendance in meetings.
Organizations can add in networking and collaboration interactions into their internship program. They often use their program to assess talent — as such, many top-performing interns might be offered the chance to return to the company once their studies are finished to start in a full-time role.
Internships can vary in length and can be either paid or unpaid (in some cases, academic credit can be offered in lieu of payment). Some organizations offer exceptionally structured and rewarding internships and, consequently, competition for internship places can be intense.
In short, internships are an effective way to apply academic skills in a workplace, learn real life-work skills, as well as serve as a steppingstone to full-time employment.
Why are internships important?
Internships provide a steppingstone for career success, equipping individuals with professional learning experience, industry connections and essential skills for future employment. In this section, we’ll explore internship benefits in more detail.
- Career exploration: You can use internships to test-run career paths before committing to a full-time job, helping you make informed career decisions.
- Confidence boost: Working in a professional environment helps you develop self-confidence and adaptability, preparing you for future roles.
- Enhanced résumé: Having credible work experience strengthens your résumé, increasing your potential in competitive job markets.
- Exposure to workplace culture: Interns gain insight into company dynamics, expectations and work ethics, easing transition into full-time employment.
- Increased employability: Employers value practical experience, and internships provide a head-start in this respect through developing your industry knowledge.
- Mentorship and guidance: Interns receive valuable advice and mentorship from experienced professionals, helping with setting career goals and navigating challenges.
- Networking opportunities: Internships are a great way to explore professional relationships with industry experts, mentors and colleagues, which can lead to you gaining opportunities further down the line.
- Practical experience: Internships provide practical experience in a real-world setting, meaning that you can apply your classroom learning to actual work scenarios.
- Potential job offers: Many employers prefer to hire interns as full-time employees after the internship concludes, reducing the need to search for jobs after graduation.
- Skill development: Interns gain important soft and hard skills, which can include transferable ones like communication, problem solving and teamwork. These, along with technical ability, allow them to thrive in their chosen industry.
Types of internships
As mentioned above, an internship job can come in all shapes and sizes. Here are the main types of internships to look out for:
- Paid internships offer interns a salary or financial compensation, either as a stipend or an hourly/monthly wage. These are very common, especially in industries like finance, engineering and tech.
- Unpaid internships are often found in non-profit organizations, government agencies, as well as creative industries. These focus on experience and networking opportunities without financial compensation.
- Academic credit internships count towards university credit and can be paid or unpaid. They require approval from your institution and will involve coursework or reports.
- Cooperative education internships are longer and full time, alternating between academic terms and work placements to offer in-depth experience.
- Entrepreneurial internships offer hands-on experience in startups, where interns can gain experience in areas like business strategy or innovation.
- Government internships provide opportunities with local, state and federal agencies, where interns get involved with public administration, policy making and legal processes.
- Non-profit internships are offered in NGOs, charities and other advocacy groups where you can contribute to social causes, work with grants, fundraising and other outreach interventions.
- Research internships are academic opportunities common in the science, medicine and academia sectors. They involve assisting with research projects, data analytics and laboratory work.
- Summer internships offer existing students a chance to get shorter-term work experience during their summer break from high school or college, without disruption to studies.
- Virtual internships (also known as remote internships) are fully conducted online, allowing interns the opportunity to work in geographically diverse teams. They’re commonly found in journalism, marketing or software development.
How long is an internship?
Internships can be of different durations and types. This may depend on your employer’s expectations, the type of internship, the industry you’re interested in, or guidance from your college.
Internships that are short term can last from a few weeks to three months, often over the summer breaks. Longer-term internships, meanwhile, can last from six months to a year.
Some internships are based on academic semesters, and others are based on projects with no specific time limit. However, there are some internships that are open-ended, and you can be given the opportunity to stay for longer if you do well.
How to get an internship
Getting an internship can be a tricky and often frustrating process, especially if you’re keen on landing a coveted role with a top company. To set you up for the best chances of success, here are some key steps to consider when thinking about how to get an internship:
- Start your internship journey by mapping out your career goals and working backwards to identify sectors and companies where an internship will really help you set off on the right foot.
- Search for internships using all the tools available to you, such as websites like Glassdoor or LinkedIn, company recruitment websites, internship fairs, your college career center, or simply through networking with professionals.
- A winning internship application starts with a top-notch cover letter and résumé. Ensure these are tailored to the individual application and that they showcase your skills and experience.
- Networking can help you land a great internship. Connect with professionals via websites like LinkedIn to learn more about their company and the internships that they offer.
- Allow time to find a great internship. Start your search early and apply as soon as roles open to give yourself the best chance of success.
- Ready yourself for internship interviews by preparing for and rehearsing interview questions, and using ChatGPT prompts to practice.
- After your interviews, remember to connect with recruiters by emailing them to say “thank you” and show your gratitude as well as enthusiasm for the opportunity.
- Ensure you meet applicable internship visa requirements by checking your work authorization. For international internships, understanding Curricular Practical Training or Optional Practical Training processes is essential.
- If you find it hard to land a paid internship role, then don’t discount unpaid or volunteer roles, as these can offer you valuable work experience in a variety of settings.
- Be tenacious! Finding a great internship is hard work. Adapt your search and be patient; at the end of the day, the right opportunity will come along!
Typical tasks for interns to do
Internship responsibilities vary by industry, company size, job roles and even employer. However, most interns handle entry-level tasks aimed at giving you transferable and hands-on experience. Here are the most common internship responsibilities:
- Administrative work, which can include handling emails, scheduling meetings, arranging files and performing other general office duties.
- Assisting with projects, such as helping with ongoing organizational projects by generating ideas, completing specific tasks and working with other teams.
- Customer service tasks like interacting with customers, replying to emails, dealing with complaints, answering telephone calls and helping clients.
- Event coordination which involve assisting in the planning of company events, meetings, workshops or conferences, as well as attending them to support their success.
- Industry-specific assignments, where you perform industry-specific tasks like financial accounting, medical research or legal work.
- Report writing and documentation, which includes developing non-confidential reports, summaries, presentations and meeting minutes.
- Research and data collection, which involves data collection, designing surveys, analyzing reports and presenting findings.
- Shadowing professionals, which is where you observe experienced employees, finding out about policies and procedures, and attending meetings.
- Social media and marketing support, which involves creating content, making posts, tracking interactions and helping with advertising strategies.
- Technical tasks, which vary depending on the industry and can include programming, graphic design or laboratory work.
Do you get paid?
Whether or not an intern gets paid depends on the industry, company, location and the type of internship.
Paid opportunities are usually more common and are becoming the norm, especially in longer-lasting internships, and in the tech, finance, engineering and healthcare industries. In general, the typical salary is between $15 and $30 per hour (Indeed currently lists the average rate at $20.60).
Unpaid internships, on the other hand, are more frequent in the non-profit, government and creative industries. These are legal in most jurisdictions; however, some states have labor laws that require payment of wages if the intern is performing essential company tasks.
Internship examples
If you’re wondering where to start when it comes to finding the right internship for you, here are some internship examples that might give you an introduction to the opportunities on offer:
Administrative internship
Interns perform office work such as scheduling meetings, replying to emails, arranging documents and helping with office work. They support other departments and assist in ensuring that business runs smoothly.
Business development internship
Interns assist in market research, competitor analysis, lead generation and sales strategies. They may even make phone calls to potential clients, create business plans and assist in the formation of partnerships.
Copywriting internship
Interns write blog posts, articles, website copy and marketing materials. They’ll also assist with proofreading, editing and the creation of interestingly written content for various platforms.
Finance internship
Interns are involved in budget analysis, data input, auditing and reporting. They assist in the identification of expenses, trends and financial procedures, as well as in dealing with investments.
HR internship
Interns perform activities like recruitment, employee onboarding, training and HR policy research. They can also conduct interviews, process applications and participate in company culture events.
Marketing Internship
Interns undertake duties including social media management, content creation, market research and campaign development. They assist in monitoring audience interaction, setting up posting timelines and measuring marketing results.
Software development internship
Tech companies’ interns develop, design, implement and maintain applications. They work with professional programmers to gain actual programming exposure.
Final thoughts
Undertaking an internship is important, as it’s the link between theory and practice, and it can open many new opportunities for you.
When making the decision on what internship to choose, it’s helpful to know what kind of internships are available, how long they last, how much you’re going to be paid for the job, and what you’ll be expected to do.
On that note, it’s important not to take internship application processes lightly. Put effort into your application, align your search to your personal and career goals, and be open-minded about what success looks like. This is important because, whereas finding good internships can be quite difficult, the effort in doing so will be totally worth it.
Are you considering doing an internship? Let us know in the comments section below.
This article is a complete update of an earlier version originally published in 2016.