Internships in College Build Your Personal Brand

2 years ago by RJ Sherman 15

young-workerCollege is not just a time to go out and party all weekend and study all week.  If you can devote part of your time every week to internships in college you will be far ahead of your peers when you graduate.

College is the perfect opportunity to try a bunch of new career paths while not having to worry as much about the long term commitment.

Many times students don’t know what type of internships they should get while in college so I developed this 5 point guide to help.

Here is a quick guide to evaluating internships in college:

  1. Time Commitment: It is important to make sure that it is something that you can handle along with your work load and your social life.  Internships are a great way to build connections and can help you get a foot in the door but if you cannot perform the tasks that are asked of you through the internship then taking it on may actually hurt you more than help.  Do your best to put yourself in a position where you can excel.
  2. Relevance to your area of expertise: There are two theories about how much your internship should relate to your area of expertise.  Some believe that you should only take on opportunities that are in your field while others think branching out is a good way to lean about other areas.  I am a proponent of the latter because broadening your understanding of how everything functions is a good career move.  It makes an employee more versatile.  You also never know how things are connected so while a job may not seem to fit with your career plans it may, in fact, be closely related.  I would not dismiss an opportunity simply because it is not in your specific field.
  3. Organization type: Startups are where you learn the most.  In no other type of organization are you able to try a variety of different tasks and actually make a difference to a company.  In a startup you are part of a vibrant and growing team.  You have the ability to do what you love to do and you will never have a dull moment.  Big businesses are great for upward mobility and job stability (for the most part) but you can quickly get lost in the shuffle and turn into just another number.
  4. Type of work: Getting someone coffee 5 days a week does you no good.  You want a position in which you can learn new material every day.  Working under someone with more experience can be very helpful, but also make sure you are always looking for ways to improve.  This aspect of evaluating internships in college is similar to the time commitment.  You want to be challenged but you don’t want to sign up for something you know you cannot do.
  5. Compensation: I hesitated when including this item on to this list.  Compensation should be the least of your worries when making a decision about internships in college.  There is a difference between an internship and job.  Internships are designed to help you grow; they are there to allow you the ability to gain experience and get a significant advantage over your peers.  While compensation is nice, giving up a great opportunity in an area that you are passionate about because of the amount they will or will not pay you is not a smart career move.

Remember that the type of internship that you decide to take on is a reflection of your personal brand.  In the corporate world everyone wants to see some experience.  If you have a way to stand out against the sea of college graduates with a 4 year degree and limited work experience you are a significant step ahead.

Internships in college are the best way to jumpstart your career.

RJ Sherman
Author: RJ Sherman

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  • http://www.wix.com/crystaly/crystal-y Crystal

    This is great! Also, for those younger readers out there, internships are also a great option to pursue even earlier…even before college. I took on some internship opportunities in high school (I would love to guest post about this if you want), and they were fantastic experiences!

    Some things to add on:
    -Even seemingly menial tasks can turn into opportunities. At my first internship, I was asked to assist another staff member to pick up dinner for the entire crew. I took the time we had while driving to the restaurant to talk about the job with that member and really articulated what I wanted to learn from the experience. He was able to connect me to another member of the team and I assisted him in annoncing for a conference of 7000+ people!
    -Sometimes, even jobs can become internships. I took on a job this summer doing some office work and since I took the initiative to ask about how things were run, my manager was trained me in so many things that whenever she’s out of the office, I’m the ones the other employees and the clients turn to!

  • http://www.lesmutuelles.org mutuelle

    Thank you RJ for your great post,I just want to add everyone has to be flexible and responsible on front of his time, because at the college’s period ,we start to get more chances to go back and fix a choice we have done with hurry ,we might did ,but We have to keep being opened on every challenge in our life .

  • http://blog.brand-yourself.com RJ Sherman

    @Crystal – Thanks for the great comment! It is never to early to start getting an internship. So many people wait until they get to college to start going down their career path in their mind around the age of 21 when they could have started it years ago.

    Concerning the guest posts, we look forward to receiving your first article soon!

    I couldn’t agree more with the fact that even an internship where the work may not be as exciting as you want you never know who you might meet and what doors might be open. It is all about experience. No matter how you get it, there is nothing better than having worked a bunch of jobs and done some different tasks because you have been exposed to so much more.

    That is awesome about your past experiences. So many people are nervous about that first step and taking on initiative but it makes all the difference in the long run. Thanks for the comment!

  • http://blog.brand-yourself.com RJ Sherman

    @mutuelle – Flexibility is definitely important as you continue down your career path. You have to be selective about the opportunities that you decide to pursue and at the same time you have to be open enough to allow your path to change should other opportunities arise. Thanks for the comment!

  • http://www.assuralys.fr mutuelle

    Thank you for your post RJ,

  • http://blog.brand-yourself.com/2009/how-to-shine-in-your-internship/ How to Shine in Your Internship | Brand-Yourself.com Blog

    [...] Internships in College [...]

  • http://www.assursante.fr/ mutuelle

    thanks for this article

  • http://blog.brand-yourself.com Trace Cohen

    Happy that it could help! Which point concerns you the most when looking for an internship?

  • mutuellesante

    internship is so important, in many ways: job, life experience, but we have to be careful not everything is really useful in the future. it's good that people write the posts like yours! thanks

  • http://blog.brand-yourself.com Trace Cohen

    Internships are great ways to gain real life work experience while still in school. As you mentioned though, not everything you learn will be applicable to everything you do; hopefully at some point though :)

    Glad that you liked the post, check out out others as they are just as good!

  • http://www.c-mon-assurance.com/ mutuelle

    For me the third : Organization type

  • http://blog.brand-yourself.com Trace Cohen

    Do you prefer the start-up environment or the structure of a “big business?”

  • http://www.c-mon-assurance.com/ mutuelle

    For me the third : Organization type

  • http://www.brand-yourself.com Trace Cohen

    Do you prefer the start-up environment or the structure of a “big business?”

  • rachatdecredit

    This article is very interesting thank you for this article and for the blog in general