Career development aids students in finding internships

If you are entering the second semester of your sophomore year you should have an internship already, or be looking to land your first one.

Many students fret about finding their first internship, but it is surprisingly easy with the help of the Career Development Center (CDC).

All students at Lipscomb University are required to have at least one internship credit to graduate. Students fulfilling this requirement gain work experience in the real world before entering it.

Leslie Shelby, Assistant Director of the CDC says that students who graduate without work experience will have trouble landing their first job.

“Finding a job can be really difficult for graduates who don’t have multiple internships,” said Shelby. “Employers look for prior experience in a position that is directly relevant to the one they are interviewing for.”

In this economy, finding a job after graduation might prove to be difficult, even for those with prior work experience.  An added bonus of holding internships while still in school is that many interns receive job offers before they graduate.

Internships are exciting, but they often build on each other as your experience builds.  Students often balk at the idea of working an unpaid internship, but many of the best opportunities don’t have to pay—because there is already so much demand for them.

“If a student can start small with an unpaid internship, they get the initial experience they need to get started on a professional path,” said Shelby. “It becomes like a snowball effect from there. Each experience builds upon the other and you can move from internship to internship very easily.”

Some of the very best internships have to blossom.  This means the intern might have to prove his or herself by excelling at the mundane tasks before management will trust them to work on the interesting stuff.  The trick is to keep excelling, surprise your managers, and keep asking for more responsibility.

For those who are interested in finding their first internship, there are two steps you need to take immediately:

First, students need to set up an “eRecruiting” account, which gives you access to Lipscomb’s internship opportunity network.  Go to lipscomb.experience.com to quickly set up an account and upload personal information.

There are two major advantages to signing up for “eRecruiting.  Primarily, it allows students to browse the available opportunities Lipscomb currently offers. Secondly, CDC staff regularly browse the profiles of students on the eRecruiting network when they receive internship offers to look for a good match.  Students who have not signed up for eRecruiting are invisible to CDC staff, and are thus overlooked.

The second step is easier than the first.  Simply walk through the doors of the CDC in the Bennett Campus Center and set up an appointment to discuss getting an internship with one of the staff.

It surprises many students to find out that taking the initiative to walk through the CDC’s doors is often the most difficult part of the process.  The CDC staff will help guide students through the process, including internship hunting, résumé building, and improving interviewing skills.

There are lots of great opportunities available to Lipscomb students right now on eRecruiting’s network.  For example, the Nashville Zoo needs two interns.  The zoo is looking for a Special Events intern to plan and host events—perfect for a marketing or communications student.  They also need an Education Program Development intern to create summer programs—a great opportunity for education students.

For students that are tired of working typical college jobs that provide little to no quality work experience, stop wasting time, walk into the CDC and start finding the next opportunity today.