My Position / Philosophy On Internships
Career Development for a college student begins on the day they start their first year at an institution. Students support their career path not only through their education, but also by developing their portfolio, job shadowing, resume building and internships. Within this process the office becomes a facilitating mechanism that supports students, faculty and relationships with employers. The program itself has to be student driven and the process needs to be student owned.
Because internships are a part of the entire career development of a student, the experience has to be a quality one. Working with a student to understand about the job search process will be carried with them throughout their career life. The student should be able to write a quality resume, and understand how to: research companies, identify companies in their geographical area, write a targeted cover letter, conduct a behavioral-based interview, dress appropriately, join professional organizations, and conduct themselves appropriately at their first career-related position.
To ensure the quality of an internship program the faculty, internship office and employers must work together. An open line of communication needs to be present in order for a well-rounded internship experience to exist for a student. Faculty's role is an important one, not only does the faculty approve the experience as an academic one, but they should supervise and participate in the student's professional career development. Faculty can be encouraged to participate by being invited to lunch with the internship counselor and the employer and being invited to attend site visits.
To market internships to the student and to the employer is easy. Employers understand the bottom- line of "trying-on" a student and seeing how they will work within their organization, while still having no long term commitment to that student. This can cut their recruitment and their training costs. Students also know that in this economy they can eliminate the double-edged sword of not having any experience to join a company and getting a company to give them experience. Internships are a perfect answer for both problems.
The benefits for a University are numerous. Internships provide a tool to improve the education at a university. For instance, because students are working in industry, the faculty will have a pulse on the changes of technology and the skills that their students need. Retention and admission at the university will increase with a quality internship program. Parents are lured by a quality program that can increase the chances their children will be hired in their field upon graduation. Research has shown that students that participate in internships tend to be better students, and are more focused. Having better and more focused students contribute to the overall satisfaction of students, increases retention and improves the quality of education that an institution can provide.
Cooperative Education and Internships have been around a long time in the technical fields, I believe that using to help the liberal arts students is a rewarding challenge and a great service to students in a society that values both experience and education.