I’m an April 2010 unemployed college grad with a Bachelors Degree in Health Science. I believe that an internship would have definitely increased my marketability for employment. On the other hand what about externships? Employers have to be willing to do their part in society with regard to college grads. Employers should recognize a college grad’s ambition by hiring and training them. Instead, employers are very stubborn, knowing that the average college grad doesn’t have the experience that they require. Over the years it seems that more has been done to create barriers to employment than to promote it. You got background checks, credit checks. If you’re an older college grad the picture is even gloomier. Employers can easily detect your age and discriminate because one has to submit social security number and birth date during background check process.
Richard Covingtonof FL2:39AM December 27, 2010
Students can derive enormous value from internships in terms of new skills learned, applied education, networking, developing comfort in a job environment, and industry experience. Internships can also give students the opportunity to explore options and industries previously untried.
In addition, internships are often an integral part of course or graduation requirements. It is a testament to the importance attached to the experience that colleges and universities, and even high schools mandate internships for many of their students.
As one of the few platforms dedicated exclusively to matching interns with both paid and unpaid job opportunities, InternMatch has compiled a number of considerations for companies and non profits who wish to make their programs as successful as possible.
We advise that intern programs be set up with thoughtful attention to HR requirements, space, equipment and the personnel needed to train and oversee the intern. It is important to ask what benefit you intend to provide the intern as well as specifically asking how your company hopes to benefit. Are you going to offer them referrals, paid employment opportunities after the internship, benefits, a chance to attend meetings, or shadow executives? Even in an unpaid environment, these concerns rarely make the internship “free” to the company or non profit.
Do you have a clear job description in mind? Internships are rarely successful when you don’t create specific tasks ahead of time with a clean understanding of how the intern will successful “fit” into the daily workings of your business. Nothing is worse than an intern who has nothing to do and for whom little or no effort is made to educate and train.
In conclusion, with thoughtful attention to detail, internships can benefit both employer and student and can continue to serve, as it has for years past, as an integral step in a student’s learning process.
Andy Maguire
InternMatch, CEO
www.internmatch.com
Andy Maguireof WA5:27PM April 15, 2010
The intern world has indeed changed...unpaid interships have most definitely become all too common...What frustrates me, however, is the fact the recession has led to a new generation of interns: Eternal Interns (www.the-eternal-intern.blogspot.com)
What spurred the creation of The Eternal Intern blog was principally the frustration many experience, due to the fact that no matter how many internships we complete and how much praise we gain at work, we are still to this day "Eternal Interns", thus: unofficially unemployed.
The fact that 3 Master Degree graduates, with international internship experience, speaking at least 3 languages, open-minded and working in 3 separate industries (and 3 different cities) each face this same "Eternal Intern" problem, is what made me decide to start this blog with 2 friends and tell our story.
What we try to express through "The Eternal Intern" is the reality of being an intern in 3 of the most powerful cities of the world: the good, the bad and the ugly. Some days can be awesome, others can be miserable.
We've done everything "by the book" and yet still find ourselves at this stand-still.
Please check us out! www.the-eternal-intern.blogspot.com
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Richard Covington of FL 2:39AM December 27, 2010
Andy Maguire of WA 5:27PM April 15, 2010
Flora of NY 4:27PM April 15, 2010