We know students can sometimes be a bit dubious about applying for internships. Is it really worth it? How will this affect my future?  Here we’ll review the most powerful reasons of why an internship is the best way to invest in your future.

You’re soon to graduate from University and you are so overwhelmed with the last exams, assignments, sports and extracurricular activities that an internship is the last thing you want to think about. But, is this really an opportunity you want to miss? The answer is NO, and we’ll explain to you why.

AN INTERNSHIP CAN SECURE FUTURE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
You will soon find out that although having good grades will open many doors, applying for an internship can be key to secure the best job and study opportunities after University. This is why the first and obvious reason to apply for an internship is that it will give you relevant work experience that will increase job opportunities afterwards.

This is not a myth, it has been found that the completion of an internship is linked to finding career-oriented employment after finishing your studies. This is partly due to the fact that during an internship you will have the opportunity to discover what employers are looking for and what traits are more valued in the work field, therefore interns usually perform better in interviews and in other stages of the recruitment process.

Of course, one thing is to find a job and a different thing is to be successful at it. Fortunately, internships can also help you in this department.  According to research, there is a significant early career advantage for undergraduates with internship experience, who have reported to spend less time to obtain their first position and had a higher monetary compensation.

Furthermore, compared to other options like mentoring or collaborative projects, internships are linked to more career development support, career satisfaction, job satisfaction and faster promotion rates.

YOU WILL DEVELOP WORK- RELATED SKILLS
An internship is also an opportunity to enhance personal skills that could then be useful when applying for other jobs (even if they are not related) and to your everyday life. Some of these skills will vary depending on the area you wish to develop, but most interns have reported a post- internship improvement in areas like adaptability to the workplace, team- playing capability, professionalism and computer and communication skills.

Other studies suggest that internships help improve multicultural skills and enhance student, personal, civic and professional development. Considering that the current recruitment model for many organisations is based on competencies and not only in academic achievement, this is definitely a major benefit.

UNIVERSITY  VS. REAL LIFE
Over the years, the gap between what is learned in University and what real work life demands has been a source of concern for both employers and employees. In this sense, internships provide a more realistic perception and understanding of what real world issues are like and what type of responses they demand from employers.

DISCOVER YOUR CAREER
Most students will choose a career based on the type of job they expect to have after University but, what if this is not really what you want? What if your true career is somewhere else? Instead of finding out when you are already in your first job (the one that was really hard to find since you didn’t have experience), an internship will give you the opportunity to try and decide if this is what you really want to do for a living.

You have to know that applying for an internship does not necessarily mean that you are tied to that job (or similar) for life.  It is common for interns to develop new perceptions about the career based on internship related experiences, either reaffirming their preference, improving an initial negative perception or decreasing their interest in a determinate career path.

The outcome and the satisfaction after an internship will depend on many factors (like learning opportunities, task significance and supervision) but this experience is the best way to discover what you want and what you definitely dislike about a job or a certain career. Furthermore, it will save you and your future employer the costs of job dissatisfaction, frustration and turnover.

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