BY
STAFF REPORTER
Lorraine Cook/THE REVIEW
Students feel the pressure of the internship process, especially during spring semester.
Internships — the hot topic on the majority of college students’ minds during the spring semester. To make an impression on the job market, internships are near necessary.
Receiving a college degree once offered the promise of a career shortly after graduation. But, in today’s market it is almost impossible for a college graduate to snag a position without a résumé stacked with experience. Not just any sort of experience, but professional, real-world work experience.
More than ever, employers are putting an emphasis on internship experience.
Amanda Mouser is a university graduate and current Assistant Community Director at Michigan State University. She sees countless applications from students come across her desk who hope to join the Student Affairs team.
“When you’re getting many applications for the same position, you have to assess an individual’s ability to excel in the role,” Mouser said. “When there’s a slew of candidates, a successful internship does set people apart.”
The National Association of College and Employers’ student survey reports that employers are far more likely to offer a job to a student after graduation if he or she had an internship or co-op, especially a paid internship.
Scott Rappaport, Assistant Director of Student Employment and Internships Programs at the Career Services Center, said there is not one major that puts a heavier importance on internships.
“I think it is pretty much all career areas, and sometimes they are called different things, sometimes they are called student teaching, research and co-ops,” Rappaport said. “Gaining experience in your career field from top to bottom is really important today.”
Employers want to see the skillset that a student picked up while working in a professional setting and how they can transfer that into their own work environment.
In theory, internships are a great addition to a college curriculum, but students often become frustrated with internships because the positions are not easy to get and are often unpaid.
Emily Czudak, a senior fashion merchandising major, understands the importance of internships but is frustrated with the difficulty of successfully obtaining one.
“Many internships require you to be a senior, which almost defeats the purpose as most seniors are looking for full-time jobs at that point,” Czudak said. “Other internships actually require prior internship experience, which is also very annoying.”
Czudak said this makes it hard for students to even get their start in the internship world.
Unpaid internships can be seen as challenging because they are usually completed during the winter and summer semesters. On top of being unpaid, internships often require college credit in exchange for the student’s short-term employment.
The good news is that employers, like Mouser, understand the difficult times some students face when it comes to landing the perfect internship.
“I don’t believe requiring a candidate to have an internship is always the best indicator for future success, especially because many internships are unpaid, which are not generally accessible to everyone,” Mouser said.
Rappaport said he hopes each student has one to two internship experiences before graduation.
“Employers are looking for experience,” Rappaport said. “It is the number one thing they want to see on a résumé.”
Rappaport said he believes internships have been significantly vital to a student’s post-graduate success for the past decade.
Internships are mainly important for two specific reasons, he said. First, they allow students to figure out what they want to do and what they do not want to do. Internships also give students the experience that makes them stronger for potential full-time positions.
Still, students find the application process exhausting and hard.
“The experience can be quite difficult and it would be nice to see some more paid internships being offered and some recognition of the difficulty of the process,” Czudak said.
