The transition from college to a full-time job can be intimidating to say the least. One way to take the stress out of the job search is to be as prepared as possible via internships.
Now that you have decided you really need an internship, what kind of company should you pursue? Here are four important criteria that can help you decide.
1) Name Recognition– What kind of company do potential employers value the most? It always helps if the person interviewing you for that next job has heard of the company who gave you the internship, but is that really the most important factor?
2) Quality of Tasks– This is a very important aspect to consider. There are usually two things that usually correlate with the quality of the work: company size and if it is paid or unpaid. Working for a smaller company usually equates to doing higher-quality tasks and having more flexibility in what kind of work you can do. Larger companies usually have very structured internships, which can be good, but it can also limit the range of skills you can acquire. Similarly, the main benefits you get from unpaid internships are new skills and references, resulting in a very high-quality internship. Paid internships can still teach you new skills, but are more likely to include clerical work or getting people coffee.
3) Quality of References– Like the previous section, this is largely based on the size of the company. Working for a small company with only seven employees means that you will be able to work alongside everyone in the company. This means that the owners/CEOs and managers will be able to give personal recommendations and evaluations of your work. Interning at a 10,000-employee company almost guarantees that you will never even meet the executive team, and less likely that you will get personalized recommendations from them.
4) Chance of Leading to a Job– This is the reason we are looking for an internship in the first place, right? For this one, I will have to give it to the larger company. A company with only seven employees is less likely to need help as that 10,000-employee company. Also, many large companies use internships as long job interviews for their entry-level positions. This means that you can get offered a job before you even finish your internship.
So what does this mean to you? The answer to the main question depends upon your situation. You have to pick a company based on what you find most important. If the quality of work and references are the only important thing to you, then an unpaid internship at a small company will probably be your best bet. If you want a high-paying internship that can lead to a full time job, then a large company is probably right for you.
Personally, I have worked for many large companies during my high school and college careers and found the experience, quality of work and references to be the most important thing for my job search. This led me to search for an unpaid internship for a small company, and I couldn’t be happier where I ended up.
In my last post, I will talk about the best places to look for your internship.
