Given the 7.6 percent unemployment rate in the United States, being out of work is a harsh reality for some college graduates. And although those statistics are discouraging, they are worse for young people in their early ‘20s, with more than 13 percent of that demographic jobless.
However, college graduates often utilize something that could put them on the fast track to employment—internships. For many, internships and work-study programs are the edge that students need to set themselves apart from their competitors in the field, many of whom likely have job experience.
Students who perform well in an internship frequently end up with a job offer. This was the case for 2013 graduates Brandon Luck and Caroline Funkhouser, who studied biomedical engineering and communication respectively.
Luck, living up to his surname, got an internship with Cisco systems by chance as he was attending a business career fair with his girlfriend and more-or-less stumbled across the company he gave his resume. Much to his surprise, Luck got a call from a representative for the company who was interested in an interview shortly after the career fair.
Luck said the experience he gained throughout the internship as a data analyst both equipped him for the job he currently has with Cisco and helped prove to the company that he may be the right person for the job.
According to Luck, many companies use internships as a trial period in which management and human resource workers find workers they are more interested in based on factors such productivity, ease to work with and willingness to follow orders.
Luck pointed out that students should view the internship process as an extended interview rather than an opportunity to get a paycheck and add a couple points to your resume.
Of the tips Luck had for potential interns, he emphasized that students should maintain a positive attitude and always be open minded about what they are doing—regardless of the task they are assigned. Judging the importance of certain duties, Luck said, is not an intern’s place.
Rather, Luck recommended that when you are presented with a task by one of your manager you should, “get your nose in the dirt and get it done.”
Funkhouser, who has been officially working for News14 Carolina since May, said her practical experiences as an intern undoubtedly increased her chances at getting her current job.
“The practical experience I had made me a better candidate,” Funkhouser said. “I don’t know how many people this applies to, but not many of the other [job applicants] were fluent in [News14’s] editing program.”
For Funkhouser, the internship experience was hands-on and educational. She did not do menial jobs such as filing paperwork or getting people coffee, which she heard interns commonly do.
“The internship prepared me for the feeling of working with live news production,” Funkhouser said.
She wanted students considering an internship to know that, “there is no way to know how to do everything they expect,” because much of the process of being an intern is gaining the job experience you can’t learn in a classroom firsthand.
That in mind, Funkhouser stressed that interns should not reject something you are asked to do on the job just because you are unfamiliar with it, comparing this learning process to a baptism by fire.
“Don’t feel like you have to know the answer to every question because you won’t, and you don’t know the ins and outs of their business–that’s what your there to learn,” Funkhouser said.
