Retail Management
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THE VALUE OF INTERNSHIPS DURING COLLEGE


In planning a career, a well-balanced approach during college is often the key to long-run success. What does this mean? A person should take his or her college education seriously, participate in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, and begin to acquire meaningful work experience.

With regard to work experience, it is becoming more and more important to potential employers that you can demonstrate the following:

While in college, you will have many choices about working. Here are just some of them:

SHOULD I WORK AT ALL?

Yes. If you concentrate all of your efforts on classes and school-related activities, you will not be giving yourself the opportunity to gain real world experience. In today's competitive job market, this will almost certainly place you at a disadvantage with regard to a number of your classmates.

SHOULD I SETTLE FOR ANY KIND OF JOB THAT IS AVAILABLE?

If no "good" jobs are available, you should undertake the best available one (even being a cashier at a movie theater or a bookkeeper at a restaurant). By doing so, you will gain exposure to the workplace and show you have a sustained commitment to working. Employers will be impressed by your willingness to take on unglamorous tasks. You will also be learning basic business skills.

Nonetheless, as you move through college, your jobs should become more career-related. In your freshman and sophomore years at school, it is quite all right to work at any job. In your junior and senior years, you should seek positions that are more related to your future career. Be open-minded and creative in this regard. For example, keeping the books for your school newspaper is a career-related job for a person interested in retail accounting.

SHOULD I WORK ONLY IN MY CHOSEN AREA OF INTEREST?

As a rule, no. First, if you decide only to work in your area of interest, you may sit out a good portion of your college years without any job. Second, employers usually want to see you have gained a number of general skills (such as how to interact with people, how to be a team player, what it is like to show up for work every day, and so on) and that you are realistic and flexible regarding the tasks you will perform when you get an entry-level, full-time position after college.

SHOULD I WORK FOR A SMALL FIRM OR A LARGE ONE?

In a small firm, you are more apt to work closely with the owner of that company and perform a wide variety of tasks. Your job may vary greatly from day to day, and there will probably be little emphasis on formal training. In a large company, you are more likely to work closely with the manager of a given department and perform a narrower range of tasks. Your job will likely vary rather little from day to day, and there will be some emphasis on formal training (depending on your job). Either type of company has the potential to fulfill your needs. Again, be open-minded and carefully look at the attributes of alternative jobs (not just at alternative employers).

SHOULD I WORK FOR FREE TO GAIN EXPERIENCE?

This is a question that only you can answer, based on your financial needs, your long-term goals, and your personal perceptions about nonpaid work. But keep these points in mind. Working for free for a nonprofit organization may be rewarding in both experiential and societal terms. Working for free for a profit-oriented firm may provide excellent experience in your chosen field, and this may be the only way that you can gain the background you desire. In addition, after graduation from college, you may have an advantage in seeking a full-time position with a firm where you have already worked. Some firms may offer only nonpaid jobs for college students.

 SHOULD I WORK IN A FORMAL INTERNSHIP PROGRAM?

Again, this depends on your personal goals. With a formal internship program, you will typically get college credit and interact with both your faculty advisor and an advisor at the participating company. You will be able to work only for an approved company in an approved job. A minimum number of work hours per week will be specified. At some colleges, interns work about 12 hours per week for a semester or full time for a summer. At other colleges, "co-op" programs enable students to spread their education over more years while they spend the added time out in the workplace. In either case, on-the-job emphasis will be on training, and academic assignments (such as a term paper summarizing the concepts learned during the internship) will be required. Through an internship, the best of your college and work experiences will be combined. After college graduation, successful interns often accept permanent positions with sponsoring firms.

Sometimes, students get too hung up on the word "internship." An internship is a valuable tool for those who want a formal program, who desire academic credit, and who want to be closely supervised. On the other hand, traditional jobs may be more flexible in their requirements, do not require academic assignments, and will be more controllable by you.

Many of the retailers listed at our Web site have internships and/or jobs available for college students. It is up to you to take the initiative and contact these firms. Do so several months prior to the date you would like to start and treat this search in a serious vein (that is, write a well-conceived cover letter and resumé, and prepare properly for your interviews).

 
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