Internships A-Z
Career Center – UW1-160 – Student Success Center
(425) 352-3706 | career@uw.edu | www.uwb.edu/careers
What is an internship?
 Bridge between university experience and the work world
 Solves the “How do I get experience?” question
 Can be full-time, part-time, paid, unpaid, onsite, virtual,
volunteer, or even a couple of hours a week
 Possibility for credit and built into your academic
coursework
Information in this presentation from:
• Internships.com Infographic: Internships
Survey 2013 and 2014 Internship Trends
• InternMatch’s (powered by Looksharp) Report:
The Biggest 2014 Internship Trends
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Value of internships
 Your internships can, in some cases, trump…
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Your GPA
Your major
The reputation of the university
Internships are how you extract value from your education
and build skill sets, applying what you are learning in the
classroom.
From:
Internships.com Infographic: Internships Survey
and 2014 Internship Trends
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Why should I have one?
 Depending on which research you read, somewhere between 1/6 to
1/3 of all college graduates take a job that does not require a
college degree
 Interns are twice as likely to land a job that does require a college
degree
 The number one indicator of first-full time career a student has
after college is last full time assignment a student had before
graduating
From:
Internships.com Infographic: Internships Survey
and 2014 Internship Trends
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Benefits of internships
 More likely to land job in
industry of choice
 More job offers after
graduation
 Higher starting salary
 Greater satisfaction on first
job
 Advantage in getting into
grad school
 Develop Skills
From:
InternMatch’s (powered by Looksharp) Report: The
Biggest 2014 Internship Trends
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Benefits of internships
 Improve knowledge of
industry, functions, job titles,
career paths
 Job reference and potential
recommendation
 Added value to resume
 Have a solid lead with at least
one potential employer
 College credit (sometimes)
 Income
 Gain experience
From:
Internships.com Infographic: Internships Survey
and 2014 Internship Trends
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Ultimate benefit
Experience will help you decide what
you do and don’t like to guide your
career path
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How to find internships
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HuskyJobs
Indeed.com
Idealist.org
LinkedIn
#1 Networking
From:
InternMatch’s (powered by Looksharp) Report: The
Biggest 2014 Internship Trends
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Application process: resume
What do I include?
 Student activities
• DECA
• Boy or Girl Scouts
• Student Government
• Athletics
 Volunteer
 Informal, meaningful experiences
• Focus on a skill area (e.g. Writing, Organization, Leadership,
etc…)
 Jobs
 Coursework: projects, presentations, and research
From:
Internships.com Infographic: Internships Survey and
2014 Internship Trends
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Defining features of a great internship
 Opportunity to work at or slightly above your skill level
 Formalized socialization opportunities
• Fostering a “good fit”
 Established program with structure, committed resources,
and an assigned supervisor/mentor
 Exposure to various departments and/or functions
 A defining project or resulting product
 An established lead of consideration for permanent hire
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3 things you want after an internship
1. Completed project
2. Job offer
3. Letter of recommendation
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Indicators of a bad internship
 Below college level work
 No training, coaching, guidance, or exposure
 All work and no play
 Bad supervision
 Boring or underwhelming
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Barriers to a successful internship
 Ambiguous expectations of job duties
• What is expected of me?
• Not knowing what you are contributing to
 Misunderstanding the benefits of the internship
• What am I getting out of this?
 Misunderstanding the job responsibilities
• “It’s not what I thought it was”
• Leaving the internship underwhelmed
Hite, R. and Bellizzi, J. (1986). Student expectations regarding collegiate internship programs in marketing. Journal of Marketing Education. 8(3), 41-49.
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How to improve a bad situation
 Clarify and prioritize responsibilities with
supervisor
 Show initiative - Ask for more work!
 Propose a project
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Maximizing the experience
 In the internship…
• Informational interview outside of your assignment
• Meet people in other departments, functions, and branches
• Meet alumni and other people in the city or area where your
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internship is located
Create a portfolio of accomplishments
NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK!
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Questions?
(425) 352-3706 | career@uw.edu | www.uwb.edu/careers