Internship Employment Questions

Questions about college summer internships and other opportunities

Feb 4, 2007

A college intern., http://www.sxc.hu/photo/582041

When seeking a college internship, what should students look for? Here are some employment questions to research or ask on your interview.

College student internship opportunities can be a great resume building experience for college students. The first step is to find a summer internship or other internship opportunity. But once you find one, how do you know that this is the right college internship for your career development interests and financial situation?

Before accepting a college internship, here are some questions to research or ask a prospective employer at the internship interview.

Is this a paid internship or an unpaid internship? Internships rarely pay well monetarily, but hopefully pay off through the valuable work experience. But can you afford to work at an unpaid internship? Find out how many hours are required. Many unpaid internships are not time consuming, which allow students to work part-time jobs at the same time. Paid internships typically require more hours. Whether or not the internship pays, make sure you are not getting exploited. Yes, you can expect to work hard at an internship for little or no compensation. However, there's a line the employer should not cross. If you are working long hours with little pay and little benefit to your career, you are being exploited.
How much time will the internship take? This is an important question to ask if you are working a part-time job or taking classes. If your schedule is too overwhelming, it will be hard to perform well at your internship. If the internship is during the semester, ask if the employer will let you work less during finals and other crunch times.
What career skills will you learn at this internship? Try to get a feel for what this experience can teach you.
Could this internship lead to future employment? Companies sometimes hire former interns for full-time positions after they graduate. Find out if this is a possibility. If so, be sure to work your tail off on the job, as every day will be part of your job interview.
Will this internship be helpful for networking? Will you get to know lots of people in the company and other people who might help you get a full-time job? Will letters of recommendation from this company carry some weight?
Is this a large company or a small company? There are advantages to both. A large company name can look great on a resume, and you might have some outstanding networking opportunities. However, at a small company, you might get an opportunity to do more tasks and learn more job skills. It may be beneficial to get two internships while in college-- one at a large company and one at a small one.

Finding an internship can be difficult, but be careful not to settle for an internship that's not right for you. Best of luck, students! And please add your experiences with college internships and ask questions in the discussion.

The copyright of the article Internship Employment Questions in Campus Life is owned by Naomi Rockler-Gladen. Permission to republish Internship Employment Questions must be granted by the author in writing.