Navigating the World of Internships: A Comprehensive Guide

Internships serve as a crucial bridge between academic learning and professional application, offering students invaluable opportunities to gain practical experience, build professional networks, explore various career paths, and develop crucial skills. For employers, internships are a valuable recruiting mechanism, allowing them to mentor and evaluate potential future employees.

What Defines an Internship?

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) defines an internship as a structured learning experience that integrates classroom knowledge with real-world application. According to NACE, a legitimate internship should include several key components:

A learning experience with a real-world opportunity to apply the knowledge gained in the classroom.
Learned skills and knowledge that are transferable to other employment settings.
A defined beginning and end that is mutually agreed upon and consistent with institutional sponsor guidelines and schedules.
A position description with clear responsibilities and required/desired qualifications.
Clearly defined learning objectives/goals supportive of the student’s academic program goals and institutional requirements.
It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or replace the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.

The Significance of Internships

Internships are vital for both job seekers and employers. NACE research shows that work-based experiences lead to increased skills, expanded networks, and enhanced social capital for job seekers. Internships are routes to jobs for job seekers and access to talent for employers. They provide a pathway to increased skills, expanded networks, and enhanced social capital.

For employers, internships are a primary recruiting tool for entry-level college graduates. They serve as an opportunity to guide and evaluate potential candidates.

Paid vs. Unpaid Internships: A Contentious Debate

The issue of paid versus unpaid internships is a subject of ongoing debate. NACE advocates that all internships should be paid, arguing that unpaid internships are problematic for several reasons. NACE Takes a Stand: All Internships Should Be Paid.

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Arguments Against Unpaid Internships

Ethical Concerns: NACE believes that all work deserves compensation.
Diversity and Inclusion: Unpaid internships can exclude students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, hindering efforts to diversify the workforce.
Financial Burden: Unpaid internships deny basic labor rights provided to paid interns.
Economic Disparity: NACE research found that students who take part in paid internships receive more job offers and ultimately garner higher starting salaries than those who participate in unpaid internships. Students who complete paid internships earn an average starting salary of $52,800, while those who complete unpaid internships start with an average of $42,500.
Underrepresentation: According to survey data provided directly by students, women, Black, Hispanic, and first-generation students were underrepresented in paid internships. The representation of men and women in unpaid internships were nearly identical. Again, women, Black, and Hispanic students were significantly underrepresented as a proportion of paid interns. Taken together, the research shows that white, male, and continuing-generation students are disproportionally represented in paid internships.

Legality of Unpaid Internships

Currently, unpaid internships are legal in certain situations. The Department of Labor has released a fact sheet outlining the Primary Beneficiary Test (PBT) to determine who primarily benefits from the internship. If the intern is the primary beneficiary, they must be paid. However, not-for-profit organizations and government agencies are exempt from this regulation.

Academic Credit vs. Compensation

The PBT includes academic credit as a factor supporting an unpaid classification for internships. However, NACE argues that academic credit alone is insufficient compensation, as compensation for labor cannot be purchased by the laborer. Academic credit should not be used to justify an unpaid internship, but should not preclude students from earning academic credit.

Career Center's Role in Posting Unpaid Internships

Career centers face a policy decision when deciding whether to post unpaid internship positions. Absent any law precluding unpaid internships, this is a policy decision for the institution and career center. Career centers are encouraged to consider how to reduce the practice until such time as unpaid internships can be ended.

To determine whether to post the unpaid internship or not, career centers should ask: Will this unpaid internship provide an irreplaceable stepping-stone for this student in reaching their ultimate career goals? Career centers should weigh the value of the unpaid internship position in its ability to help students explore career paths, develop professional networks, and confirm their career goals against the amount of time and labor required for the internship. NACE urges career centers to have very high expectations for the unpaid internships they choose to post.

Supporting Students in Unpaid Internships

NACE encourages career centers to help organize various funding streams that can be used to help support low- and unpaid internships. While some institutions have a stipend program for low- and unpaid internships, only a small percentage provide stipends for all unpaid or low-paid internships, with most programs requiring students to apply for competitive funding.

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NACE's Stance on Federal Legislation

NACE supports several pieces of federal legislation related to internships:

NACE encourages Congress to pass the Federal Intern Protection Act to extend legal protections to unpaid interns in the federal government.
NACE encourages federal legislation to prohibit discrimination against unpaid interns in the private sector as well.
NACE supports increased funding for programs that provide paid work-based learning opportunities (e.g., Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants and Registered Apprenticeship Programs).

NACE advocates for legislation that would revise or reject the PBT and replace it with guidance that interns must be paid.

Experiential Learning: A Broader Perspective

Internships are one type of experiential learning, an umbrella term for work-based experiences that complement academic learning.

Cooperative Education (Co-op)

Cooperative education programs, or co-ops, provide students with multiple periods of work in which the work is related to the student’s major or career goal. These programs integrate academic study with terms of full-time, discipline-related employment. Co-ops often lead to full-time employment after graduation.

Apprenticeships

According to the Department of Labor, apprenticeships combine paid on-the-job training with classroom instruction to prepare workers for highly skilled careers. They provide opportunities to earn while learning and prepare them for good-paying jobs. The Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) is one such example.

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Finding the Right Internship: Key Considerations

Before embarking on an internship search, it's crucial to define your goals and understand the different types of internships available.

Types of Internships

Paid vs. Unpaid: Paid internships offer monetary compensation, while unpaid internships provide experience and networking opportunities.
Summer vs. Semester-Based: Summer internships typically involve full-time work, while semester-based internships are part-time.
For-Credit vs. Non-Credit: Some internships offer college credit, while others do not.
Practica: Hands-on training programs required for degree completion.
Externships: Short professional experiences centered on job shadowing.
Co-ops: Cooperative educational experiences spanning multiple years, combining coursework with work experience.

Factors to Consider

Internship Goals: Define your objectives for the internship, whether it's exploring a career path, developing specific skills, or building your network.
Degree and Career Paths: Align your internship with your academic major and career aspirations.
Time Commitment: Assess the time commitment required and ensure it aligns with your academic and personal responsibilities. Semester-based internships generally require a part-time commitment of no more than 20 hours per week. To earn college credits for an internship, students must usually complete at least 150 hours of work during the term. Internships that span the summer months generally require a full-time work schedule.
Compensation: Consider your financial situation and weigh the benefits of unpaid internships against the potential financial burden.
College Credit: Determine whether the internship offers college credit and if it aligns with your program requirements.
Local vs. Remote: Decide whether you prefer a local or remote internship, considering factors such as travel costs and flexibility.

Strategies for Finding Internships

College Career Center: Utilize your college's career center for job counseling, application tips, and internship resources.
Networking: Reach out to friends, family, former employers, mentors, and faculty for potential leads.
Local Companies and Businesses: Explore internship opportunities with local companies and businesses.
Job Search Sites: Utilize job search websites to narrow your search based on industry, location, and internship type.

Securing an Internship: Application Tips

Apply Early and Widely: Submit well-crafted applications to a variety of positions well before the deadline.
Strengthen Your Resume: Tailor your resume to the specific internship, highlighting relevant skills and accomplishments.
Write a Unique Cover Letter: Craft a unique cover letter for each application, showcasing your personality and qualifications.
Build a Portfolio (if Needed): Create a portfolio to showcase your skills and work samples, particularly in fields like art, writing, and journalism.

Resume Enhancement

Make It Professional: Resumes should use a simple font face and regular font size while looking clean and organized.
Tailor the Resume to the Internship: The individuals responsible for hiring interns know if they’ve received a generic stock resume - make sure you include specific details that will appeal to the company you want to intern at.
Champion Yourself: A resume is not the place for modesty. Don’t hesitate to showcase your biggest accomplishments and most impressive activities.
Be Unique: The most competitive internships receive countless applications. Underscore personal attributes and activities that highlight individual characteristics.
Ask for Help: Professors, professionals in the field, and even your college’s career center can help you out if you run into any roadblocks, have questions, or simply need a second pair of eyes.

Cover Letter Creation

Make It Unique: Create a unique cover letter for each application. A stock cover letter provides a terrible first impression.
Know Your Audience: Recognize the general aesthetic and atmosphere of a potential employer and reflect that in each cover letter you write.
Catch Their Eye: The best cover letter highlights unique attributes, skills, and experiences that separate you from other candidates.
Be Confident: Highlight attributes and skills while clearly stating why and how a particular opportunity benefits both parties.
Revise: Revisions are a necessary step for any cover letter. Grammatical and spelling errors can reflect poorly on you.

Portfolio Development

Have a Digital Portfolio: Digital portfolios demonstrate an applicant’s seriousness about the internships they’re applying for and provide easy access to prior work.
Highlight Your Best Work: A portfolio allows applicants to spotlight their best work.
Include a Bio: These allow applicants to highlight themselves as individuals with certain goals, skills, and interests.
Include a Philosophy Statement: Applicants can explain their dedication to a particular field, prof…

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