Chicago Internships: How An Internship Can Help You Get A Job
Chicago internships can assist you in facing one of the biggest life transitions: Starting a career. Getting a job right out of college these days is harder than ever. With a lagging economy and a job market saturated with entry-level employees, finding employment can be difficult no matter how qualified you are.
What are employers looking for more than anything? Real experience. And a great way to get real on-the-job experience is through choosing a Chicago internship in your field.
How can a college internship help you get a job?
Well, there are skills that you learn and tools you acquire that make the Chicago internship experience completely irreplaceable on your way to your chosen career. Here are the things a college internship can teach that make you a better candidate for employment.
Learn how to work in an office:
If you are going into an industry that operates around an office culture, it is always good to have office experience. You might have had some group projects or team building exercises in college, but working in an office is a learning experience all its own. Your potential employer may be more likely to hire you if you can say that you have worked in an office of relative size or atmosphere as the job you are applying for.
You also probably know the importance of punctuality, proper behavior and organization if you have office experience. Likewise, working in an office gives you something to talk about in your interview. A strength of yours may be communication; you can illustrate this by discussing a time you mediated a conflict or facilitated an idea through communicating in the office environment.
Learn the basics of your job:
Everyone applying for an entry level job is just that– entry level. You’ve just graduated from college, and everyone has about the same amount of career experience. But if you have experience from an internship in the industry you want to work in, you at least have observed or been taught the basics of your job.
Depending on how much freedom and responsibility your internship gave you, you may know much more than the basics. If you can demonstrate in your interview that you will require less training than other applicants once you are hired, you might have a leg up on other entry level applicants.
Learn to look at the long-term:
Employers want to hire someone who is committed to their company, the job they do or the industry they work in– in other words, they are in it for the long haul. Employers are not looking to hire someone who is looking for any entry-level job because they simply need a job to support themselves. You can exhibit to your potential employer that you have a sustained interest in your job if you have had an internship in the same or similar field. Your commitment to the industry can make you more attractive to potential employers.
Learn your weaknesses:
One of the hardest questions you may face in an interview is “What is your greatest weakness?” Obviously, you want to answer this one carefully. If you have worked in an internship, you can actually learn what your weaknesses are and learn which parts of your job you don’t like to do. You will also learn, in an internship, how to cope with these problems. By knowing and having experience dealing with these weaknesses from your internship, you can honestly answer this question, and then explain how you’ve adapted to your weaknesses and learned to manage the parts of your job that you don’t like.
Learn to network:
Obviously, the best thing that can come out of a college internship is that your company or organization likes your work enough that they bring you back on full time. However, this isn’t always possible. The other valuable outcome of a good college internship is that you build contacts from your internship who can help you get a job when the time comes.
Being well-educated, competent and committed isn’t always enough to land the job. Sometimes you need a contact who can put in a good word for you or help you get your foot in the door. If you impress your superiors at your internship, they might be able to help you do just that.
Similarly, your potential employer may ask for a recommendation or a reference. While having a college professor commend your work is great, having someone who actually worked with you recommend your work is much more convincing. You can acquire a great reference from your internship as long as you work hard and prove yourself to your coworkers.
So, starting a career might seem like a daunting task, but putting it off won’t make it any easier. If you’re smart, you’ll go ahead and jump into the career world during by working in a summer internship program during your college years.
Getting your feet wet with a Chicago internship can make you more confident when you go to interview for your first job, and it can give you invaluable tools to convince your potential employer that you are right for the job.