The ever-infamous “g-word” haunts every senior as midterms commence and the spring sun begins to shine.
Graduating is scary—yes, I said it, graduating—but it doesn’t have to be.
The beginning of my junior year was when the reality began to set in. My class numbers were getting higher and my advisement checklist was getting smaller. I began to ask myself, “What’s next?”
I saw my older peers getting jobs and moving away, but how did they get there and what prepared them? It seemed that the common denominator was internships. Whether it be paid or unpaid, most of them gained professional experience around their junior year.
Southwestern University’s Office of Career Services conducted a post-graduate survey that collected data from the internal Career Services log and the Office of Academic Success and Records, finding that if a student completed an internship during their time in college, they were 13 percent more likely to find full-time employment than someone who did not.
The more internship opportunities students completed, the higher the percentage.
I saw this as a great opportunity to begin my search for the perfect internship. At this point, I was still confused and unsure what my direct career path would be, so the search was not easy.
I went through hundreds of job descriptions and LinkedIn posts, but nothing seemed to provide me with the right experience. I soon came across an internship titled “Communications Intern,” specific enough to spark my interest and vague enough to satisfy my uncertainty. I applied and was called in the next day, seeming to fit the job description as well as I thought. I was hired the next week and began my journey as a communications intern.
Through this position I learned valuable skills like how to navigate the entire Adobe product, how to write a publishable press release, how to plan a successful event and how to take an aesthetically pleasing photo.
Although I learned and honed these skills throughout the past year and a half, they were not the only valuable things I learned throughout my experience as a communications intern.
I also gained life lessons and gained irreplaceable connections with my colleagues that I will carry with me throughout the rest of my career. Lessons like: how to politely respond to an email, how to interact with unforgiving coworkers and how to run a smooth meeting.
In fact, one of the most valuable skills I learned was how to conduct myself in an interview. Through the company I interned for, I was able to have interview practice with my coworkers.
Just last week, I was able to apply and interview for a position in my department, possibly securing a job after I graduate.
I could not be happier with the institution I work for and I am proud to have dedicated myself to it for a year and a half, hopefully even longer.
In the same study at Southwestern University, 35 percent of students reported being very happy with their first internship. I feel lucky to be a part of that statistic, and I feel that taking an internship is the best way to prepare college students for a career.
So remember, if the “g-word” haunts you even before your senior year, an internship can make the real world seem a lot more realistic.
Erin King is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies. She can be reached at EK800454@wcupa.edu.