Before you enter college, you may think that internships are just an easy right of passage required to get your foot in the door at an amazing company that will ultimately lead you to obtaining a job. You may have seen the countless movies and shows where interns are played as characters who are nervous, people pleasing, taken advantage of, and get yelled at if the Starbucks that they bring to their boss doesn’t have the exact perfect amount of caramel drizzle on top. However, interning in real life is pretty different than how it is portrayed as to people who have not experienced an internship position on their own.
First and foremost, getting an internship can be quite difficult, especially if you are in the business profession. Many times, interns are only hired if they have had previous internship experience. This brings about a problem for students because they need to have an internship in order to get an internship. Internships, for larger, more successful companies, are also just extremely competitive. Some places receive over 15,000 applications per intern season. If you are one of the lucky people chose, you will most likely have to go through a long and multiple step process of phone, skype, and in person interviews.
And while this information seems daunting, it is very possible to get a quality internship as long as you conduct yourself in a professional manner that exudes responsibility and competence. It is also important to not only be a good intern, but to go above and beyond in terms of taking on responsibilities and learning new experiences.