Written by Brooke Zauner, Intern at CBS News
Upon graduating high school, most students have probably heard something along these lines: find a good college, pick a marketable major, keep up high grades, and boom! You’ll land a job in no time. Well, in most cases, that doesn’t quite cover it anymore.
One of the best chances you may have to get hired is to do an internship. Stuart Lander, Chief of Marketing Office for Internships.com, says, “You have a 7 in 10 chance of being hired by a company you interned with.”
A survey conducted by Internships.com in 2012 showed that 69% of companies with 100 or more employees offered interns full time jobs. The survey polled more than 7,300 students, recent graduates, and also 300 human resource professionals. Internships are gradually starting to become the “new interview” for both students and employers.
Aside from getting hired by a company, internships are also a good way to test-drive a profession without having to make a full commitment. Senior student, Samantha Bredeson, has had five internships in multiple areas of communications throughout her entire college career, including NBC Chicago and Kiss FM, “People who don’t do internships in their field have this idea in their head that they absolutely know what they want to do and that’s not always true… you could get out in your field and realize it’s not for you.”
With the number of jobs available becoming sparse, internships–now more than ever–are becoming crucial to gaining valuable experience employers are looking for. Junior student, Morgan Impeartrice, has also had two internships. “It can be scary and time consuming to search for an internship, but it is worth it!” says Impeartrice.
Speaking as someone who currently holds an internship at CBS News, I can’t recommend it enough. Getting an internship not only allows you to gain experience, but you’re also forming valuable, maybe even lifelong connections with people. Your internship may not land you a job, but having a connection sure might. I’ve made it an absolute priority to meet every single person before my last day.
If you’ve missed the internship boat this year, don’t fret. Employers are continually posting new internship openings every two or three months.
Whether or not you’ve previously held an internship or are just starting out, employers also look at grades, relevant projects, course work, and extracurricular activities. Bredeson says, “Don’t undervalue homework and grades. Work hard and focus on what needs to be done. Success will follow.”
