An internship is like an apprenticeship. In both cases, the young or inexperienced study with an expert to learn a skill. The only difference is that interns spend their time learning in a more corporate environment.
Almost all universities in the United States require students to complete some type of internship. And if the school doesn’t, many employers in white-collar professions prefer applicants with previous internship experience.
Therefore, conducting an internship search is virtually unavoidable for college students.
When you can find the perfect internship to increase experience in your specific field of interest, it is extremely valuable. But internship research itself is not always so easy. Often because young adults don’t know the best places to look.
Some places undergraduates and graduates may not think of for their internship search are:
SearchTempest.com
If you like Craigslist, you will love this website. SearchTempest.com collects search results from each and every city in the Craigslist database. Users have full control over the origin of the results.
Even better is that there are two categories that will help you in your search for internships. Both the Jobs and Jobs categories can generate opportunities. Type in a search term or keyword to remove irrelevant results. You also have the option to only show paid jobs or gigs.
Indeed.com
Indeed.com is a website that most people use to search for job openings. But college students and graduates can also use Indeed to search for internships.
The beauty of Indeed is that many companies use it to find employees. There are ALWAYS new job offers to apply for. From the home page, simply type a few words that describe what you’re looking for. If location is important, enter a zip code to display only local results. For those who can travel for an internship, simply write internship in the What box and search. Basically, all the internships available through Indeed.com will be listed. Boat!
elance.com
This is one of those places where you would never have thought to look for an internship. But she’d be surprised how many legitimate companies outsource talent through Elance.
List of Elance orders by industry category. Find one that your skills or field of interest most likely falls into. you can try to write internal in the search box, or you can review individual posts for opportunities. I have come across several clients who are eligible to offer college credit.
Local business
Sometimes the places right under your nose are as far away as you need to look. Check with local businesses and organizations to see if they can create an intern position for you.
Companies rarely pass up the opportunity to hire an unpaid intern. So if money is not a big issue for you, this is probably the easiest way to end your internship search.
your own work
Very few young adults think to ask their own employer about internship opportunities. It’s almost common sense when you think about it. A college student who has already demonstrated trustworthiness with their employer is very likely to get an internship if one is available at the company.
Even if your employer doesn’t already have internship opportunities available, consider creating one. Hopefully, you can keep your current salary.
The employer of your dreams
This one is for the truly ambitious guys. The faint of heart would not think twice.
Approach the employer of your dreams in person to become an intern with the company. You may not necessarily have to talk to the boss. If you can talk to a department manager, that’s great. Not many show up to ask for an internship face-to-face. It is very helpful to show your initiative and common sense, something that employers love in interns.
If one of these internship search destinations doesn’t work, try another. The Law of Averages supports you here. The more effort you put into making your internship search a success, the more likely you are to find the best opportunity for you.