Value of Internships

(Courtesy of : www.forbes.com)

The importance of internships can't be overrated.  Many companies are reluctant to hire an intern for a summer (or short term assignment).  These companies feel that: 1) They are too busy to post an internship, review resumes, interview candidates, and extend internship offers, 2) they will have to "babysit" the interns during the work day and keep them focused on the business at hand, 3) the intern will complete the internship, go home, graduate, and take an offer with a competing company.  I feel these are just excuses.

Internships help both the company and the student.  It gives  the student a real world experience in which to apply what her or she has learned in the classroom.  In my experience, interns may be a little nervous at first (understandable) but quickly excel at their first assignment.  If a hiring company has introductory projects for interns to handle, the intern will not be bored and will produce fabulous results.

The company benefits by giving the intern an "audition" of sorts to see how effectively he or she integrates themselves into the business.  The company can free up more experienced personnel for more challenging projects requiring their expertise.  An obvious plus in the operations world.

If the intern looks good, extend an offer to him/her contingent on graduation. If the intern likes the experience he or she will spread the word on how great it was to work at the company and every operation likes free publicity.

(Courtesy of : www.businessinsider.com)