Chicago Internships: Skills You Can Learn On the Job and With Us!
At the Chicago Center, you get to work in an internship in Chicago while being supported by peers who are doing the same thing and a staff who is ready to help you make the most of your internship experience and your time in Chicago. That is the great part of being in a Chicago internship program rather than simply finding an internship on your own.
We’ll help you take your work experience and understand it in the context of the city and its unique cultural and economic background. Meanwhile, you’ll be in charge of your own career education while you are on the job. There are many things you can learn from an internship, whether it’s your first one or one of many you’ve worked in. Here are just a few of the skills you can expect to pick up in an internship in Chicago.
Multitasking and Time Management
In high school and college, you have to balance many time commitments, classes and jobs, but when you work in an internship or job, you realize how different multitasking on the job can be. Rather than being able to dedicate your full attention to one task for an extended period of time or until it’s finished, you often have to juggle projects and finish them all quickly and efficiently.
Instead of sitting down to write a paper and finishing a few hours later, you can find yourself with multiple deadlines on different tasks while also manning other constant responsibilities– like answering the phone or responding to customer service emails– that require sporadic attention.
What this will teach you (and quickly!) is how to manage your time properly. You will learn to understand which things you can do quickly, which things that take you a little more time and effort, and how to balance those things so that you get them all done in the time allotted. For some, the best strategy is knocking out all the quick tasks and then devoting serious time to the tougher ones. For others, it’s accomplishing the one time-consuming problem first, and then doing the shorter, easier tasks with the left over time.
You’ll find the best ways to work on multiple tasks and to manage your time for yourself with a little experience in an internship. And while you are gathering valuable work knowledge in the office, you’ll be encouraged to understand your place in the city in a larger context through your Chicago Center seminars and community based education.
Basic Software Skills
If you are working in an office, then you may have to pick up new software skills on the job. Whether it’s a retail system, bookkeeping software or simply a new messaging or word processing software, any new software skill is great to add to your resume.
Plus, if you continue to work in that industry, the software skills you learn may be part of the basic knowledge it takes to succeed. When potential employers can tell that you already have the basic skills of an entry level employee in their company, it can give you a leg up toward getting hired when you start looking for a full time position.
When to Ask for Help, When to Take Initiative
Some knowledge you may gain while working an internship is how to balance taking direction and finding your own way on certain tasks. You may be given an assignment you don’t fully understand or with vague instructions. There are times when the best thing to do is ask questions until you understand exactly what your boss or supervisor is expecting from you.
There will also be times when you should take on the task and complete it in the way you see fit. It might take some trial and error to complete a task with less specific instructions, but sometimes that’s the right thing to do. You can show off the quality of your work and your ability to adapt by taking on a project without a lot of direction or supervision.
But if your boss was looking for a specific outcome–and you fail to understand that and deliver it–you may disappoint with your independent work. In an internship, you will learn how to figure out when ask for more direction and when to work independently. Simply the experience of having to make this decision as best you can will help you to make it more confidently in the future.
Finding a New Industry
When you start an internship, it may not be in the industry you first imagined, or it may be in an industry you weren’t familiar with at all before you started working in it. But this can be a great thing, says Christian Deloach, Creative Director of Fishnet NewMedia in Massachusetts. And he speaks from his personal internship experience:
Internships can open a world of opportunity that you didn’t even know existed. I was an illustration major with an eye toward book illustration when I was invited to intern with a new media production company. My internship opportunity at Fishnet NewMedia exposed me to technology and people who sparked my interest in new media production and Web site design. When I returned to college for my senior year I focused on course work that enhanced my skills in the tools and technology used by professional Web designers. Since I had worked closely with the team at Fishnet NewMedia, I knew how to augment my portfolio with class projects and other work that would demonstrate that I would add value as a full time employee. When I expressed interest in returning after graduation, they welcomed me back.
Like Deloach, you’ll have the opportunity to use your internship to explore a new industry, better your marketable skills, and network at your company if you think you want to return to work there.
In your Chicago internship program, you’ll work with us to find a position in a company that you think will help you learn these basic skills, along with many other skills that you can’t predict. All of them will help you become a better hire when you start looking for a full-time job after college.
Our network of hundreds of agencies, corporate organizations, arts groups, and other institutions will provide the internship that will allow you to contribute in significant and meaningful ways within a supportive work environment.
Meanwhile, you’ll come home to friends and peers at a Chicago Center apartment, and be able to explore the city and learn from its neighborhoods, too. What’s the outcome? An enriching experience enhancing both your personal and career growth.