Page 299 - Keys to College Success

part time, and may even allow for you to study while at work (depending on the
nature of the job), on-campus jobs can help you stay on track with your studies
while earning extra cash. Finally, as with any job, on-campus jobs will build trans-
ferable skills.

Off-Campus Jobs
Students who work off campus may do so because they want to do a particular type of
work not available on campus, want to work longer hours than on-campus jobs offer,
have an existing connection with an employer, are ineligible for on-campus jobs, or
were unable to get an on-campus job due to overwhelming demand.
Off-campus jobs build transferable skills just as on-campus jobs do. Because they
10 may demand more of your time, though, you may want to prioritize working in an area
CHAPTER benefit is that if your job is in a career area that you want to continue to explore, you
of interest if you are going to go to the trouble of working off campus. One additional
may be building networking contacts and a reputation that will serve you well after
graduation.

Internships
INTERNSHIP
A temporary work An internship gives you a chance to work in a field to see how you like it. Internships
program in which
are usually unpaid, although some carry a small salary or stipend. They generally hap-
a student can gain pen over a limited period of time, for example, over the summer, or for three to six
supervised practical
experience in a particular months. Students may have several internships over the course of a college education.
professional field.
Pros and Cons
Internships have grown in potential significance as the job market has tightened in
recent years. Trudy Steinfeld, New York University’s executive director of career
development, reports that internships “have never been more closely tied to perma-
nent hiring than they are today,” because of how they provide “a way to test-drive
potential employees.” With stakes ever higher for employers, and companies less
11
willing to take a chance, knowing what to expect out of a potential employee can be
a significant factor in the hiring decision. Plus, the test-drive goes both ways—an
intern can evaluate the experience and decide if the company’s culture works for
him or her. 12
What potential downsides do internships hold? First of all, just as there is more
competition for jobs, more students and graduates are competing for internships.
Second, not every internship holds value, and interns sometimes end up doing menial
work unrelated to the company’s specific goals. Federal regulations from the Depart-
ment of Labor indicate that unpaid internships need to involve tasks that provide train-
ing similar to vocational education. However, not all companies follow regulations,
and as the number of students and graduates taking unpaid internships increases, so
too do the instances of exploitation, where interns spend most of their time cleaning or
doing lunch runs. 13

Finding and Making the Most of Internships
Your career center should be your first destination when it comes to looking for viable
internships. Career center staffers can help you find potential internships that suit your
interests and availability, and guide you in preparing for interviews with the companies
that offer them. You can also check out reference books like those published by Vault,
as well as Internet sources like Internships.com and Princeton Review.
Being able to take initiative will serve you here. Call a company you are interested
in, recommends Lauren Berger of Internqueen.com, and ask if it would consider having
an intern. She notes, “If the employer tells you they’ve never had an intern before, ask
them if you can be the first.” She also advises students to list 10 companies they like and

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