Day 5 of the Career Champions Challenge
Welcome to Day 5 of the Career Champions challenge! Today’s topic is Internships.
Internships are a great way for students to figure out their future career path, gain valuable skills, and network with professionals. Internships are not one-size fits all. Some are paid and some are not. Some students are looking for academic credit and others are not. If a student knows that they want an internship, but they don’t know where to start, the Office of Career & Professional Development can help.
Career advisors meet with students one-on-one to help them strategize a plan to understand their goals and focus their internship search process. Often, students believe advisors will place them into an internship or we have lists of open opportunities at the ready. Instead, we teach them to look for an internship that matches their interests and skills. We also have discussions with students around accumulating experiences to add to their resume so once they are ready to apply, they can meet minimum requirements. Once a student has their goals and plan in place, they are ready to take the next steps! Today, we will discuss key components in the internship search process:
- Timeline
- Compensation
- Red Flags/Scams
- Search Tools
Timeline
Many students enter our office assuming they cannot apply for an internship until they are a junior or senior. However, you can encourage students to come talk to us earlier, even as soon as their freshman year. Students always ask when they should start looking for a summer internship. It is important for you to set their expectations that a job or internship search can take months. Certain industries, like the “Big Four” accounting firms as well as federal government positions may require that students apply as early as a year in advance. Planning ahead gives a student the lead time needed to build connections, research companies/positions, and work on their professional documents and skills (i.e., resume, cover letter, and practice interviews).
Compensation
Internship compensation comes in many forms and combinations: paid/unpaid; credit/no credit. Students can both earn credits and receive compensation for an internship experience. While many opportunities are paid, unpaid internships still provide value and experience that can be added to a resume. Some students think that paid internships look better on their resumes. It is important to reassure them that there’s no distinction on how unpaid internships are formatted or perceived on a resume.
Many of the students who come to you may be interested in academic credit. As our office is unable to handle questions regarding academic credits, we always refer students to their academic departments. We find that students are often confused and think they can get credit after the internship is completed, not realizing that they need to enroll in a class before it actually starts. Students can also go to the Center for Experiential Education, which has internship courses for students in any major.
Red Flags/Scams
The Employer Relations Team in the Office of Career & Professional Development vets incoming employers and positions in Handshake. However, it’s important for job and internship seekers to stay diligent about scams.
Here are some ways to identify that a job or internship posting is not legitimate:
- The job description has typos.
- Employer wires money or asks you to send money prior to start of work.
- Employer requests SSN or other personal information.
- You never see/meet employer – all communication is done via text or email.
Students can always contact the Office of Career & Professional Development to confirm if a job or internship posting is legit.
Search Tools
During the internship and job search, we recommend students employ a multi-pronged approach: networking, career fairs, searching on job platforms and directly on company websites. We find that many students don’t do proactive job and internship searches. They take a “wait and see” approach, reacting to opportunities when it lands in front of them. Students also approach the search process by applying to lots of positions, in the hopes that they will eventually get hired. Our office emphasizes a targeted search process and quality applications (over quantity). Many students tell us they will “take anything.” You can assist students by helping them figure out the type of internship they are looking for.
UAlbany offers students and alumni systems to aid in their job and internship search. In the videos today, we are going to demonstrate two platforms, Handshake and Career Shift, as resources students may use to aid in their search. If you would like a personal Handshake account to use with your students, please contact careerweb@albany.edu.
To answer today’s quiz successfully, please be sure to do the following. You need to take all 8 quizzes to receive your certificate of completion:
- Browse the UAlbany Center for Experiential Education website, specifically the internship course page.
Thank you again for participating in the challenge. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at career@albany.edu.
Today’s Resources
