Winter internships are about to begin.
If you’ve never had an internship before, now is the time to get prepared. If you have had internships before, you can never be too prepared. Because internships are a great way to learn about different careers, as well as get experience to include on your resume and college applications.
What is an Internship?
An internship is a short-term job that allows the worker, or intern, to gain introductory experience in a certain profession. As an intern, you will work for a company or organization and gain the hands-on and practical experience you can use for future jobs.
There can be a lot of variation between internships. They may be part-time or full-time, paid or unpaid, take place over the winter, summer, or during the school year, and last anywhere from a few weeks to a year or more. Since internships are for people with little or no experience in a particular career field, most interns are high school students or recent college graduates.
Winter internships, occasionally known as “winternships”, give applicants from all over the world the opportunity to make the most of their winter break.
What do interns do?
The duties and responsibilities of an intern depend a lot on where they work.
Typically, you will spend your internship doing work similar to that of an entry-level employee at the organization. You may also do work related to several jobs in order to learn more about different career paths. During your internship, you may work with employees, customers, other interns, on your own, or a combination of these. Typically, you will have a supervisor who will act as your boss, assign you work, and make sure you feel comfortable at your internship.
What are the benefits of internships?
There are multiple reasons to pursue an internship in high school; I've listed a few of the most important benefits below.
One of the most important benefits of doing an internship is that you’ll gain skills and experience that you can use for future jobs and classes. Completing an internship that relates to a job you may want to have will help you get relevant work experience and a better chance of getting a full-time job in that field in the future.
Doing an internship is a great, low-risk way to learn about different jobs because they provide hands-on experience and the opportunity to observe many aspects of a career. It's much better to figure out whether you'd like a particular job during a high school internship rather than waiting until you've finished college and started working to discover that the jobs you spent four years and thousands of dollars preparing for aren't a good fit for you.
Internships are great experiences to include on job and college applications. Completing an internship, especially as a high school student, shows that you are a hard worker, motivated, and interested in learning new things. These are all qualities that employers and schools like to see in applicants.
If you’ve landed a paid internship, you also have the benefit of earning a paycheck, which I’m sure you know is a significant benefit and can help you put money away for college.
How to prepare for Internship?
Now that we have understood the importance of winter internships, below are some things you need to do before applying for an internship.
Everything begins with you. Whether you want to have an internship that is similar to your major or you want to try another industry, it’s important to know what you want. An internship can be the stepping stone for your future career, so take some time to reflect on what you want with your internship and future career.
Now you already know your preferred industry, it is time to learn about your industry. Make sure you know what skills are expected for the position you are applying for. Go back to yourself and see whether you are qualified or not. Don’t get discouraged if you lack certain skills. It’s your time to learn before your winter internship starts!
Take the time to research the company that you are applying to. Before you even arrive, companies expect you to have a solid idea of what their company does. Incoming interns should read through company websites and social media sites to get a feel for their culture, structure, and mission.
After you've researched the company, practice the interview by considering your response to frequently asked questions and developing confident body language. Also, make a list of thoughtful questions about the company and job description.
Performing well in an interview can increase your chance of getting selected. Knowing what to do and what not to do can be the difference between receiving the offer and losing an opportunity. So, you must know the important dos and don'ts to ace an internship interview!
Where to look for internships?
Knowing where to look for the internships that will be the right fit for you is a great place to start. There are several websites like Indeed and InternMart that have millions of internship opportunities listed on their page. This is where you can search for internship titles that you wish to apply for. Further, you can narrow down the search by industry, location, and company ratings.
Almost all schools have a career guide or a dedicated partner firm that allows students to find open internship positions for winter. Along with this, the occasional internship or career fairs can also be of great value.
You may also scroll through the social media profiles of the companies that you're interested in and reach out to them via email.