5 Reasons to Take An Internship After Graduating

Entering the workforce can be an extremely stressful process. When applying for jobs, you start to notice that companies are looking for you to have more than an education. You also need experience. 3 years post-undergrad, I decided to take another internship to increase the amount of experience I have. My hope was to increase my knowledge and make my skills more marketable. And I actually enjoyed the internship and learned a lot!

I got my degree in Mass Communications in 2014. When I was in school, I took 2 different unpaid internship with magazines. I just knew I would have ease finding a job when I graduated. WRONG! Once I finally landed a stable full-time position it was not in my career field. But it allowed me to get a Master’s degree for free.99! So I decided to get my Master’s in Public Relations Management. But I didn’t have much formal experience with being a “publicist”. Sure I could write the press releases and work events but could I pitch? Could I create a sponsorship deck? Maybe with the help of Google but I needed the experience. Something I could actually put on my resume.

I remember looking for jobs, seeing that people wanted interns with a Bachelor’s degree and thinking “Ew. Why would I do that?” I think part of that came from how bad the job market is for recent graduates. Looking back now, I’m actually extremely grateful for the opportunity the internship provided. Not only did I enjoy what I was doing, I was able focus on something outside of my everyday activities at work . Which brings me to this….here are a few reasons you should take an internship even if you have a degree.

5 Reasons to Take An Internship After Graduating:

1. Test the Waters. You may come out of school and still be unsure which path you want to take. And that is okay! An internship can help you see the day-to-day life of someone in the field. For me, I came out of my internship feeling extremely comfortable and knowing that I still wanted to pursue communications.
2. Gaining Experience. If you know me (or have read previous posts) you know that I am an advocate for learning. Whether it’s in the classroom or in the field, you can always learn something new. Through my internship I was able to learn new skills and even get hands on knowledge with the skills I learned previously. This brings me to my next point….
3. Refresh Your Knowledge. If you’re like me and you ended up in a different career field, chances are you may need to brush up on your skills. Interning helped me get back into swing of communications. It gave me the chance to go into my memory bank to pull out old tricks.
4. Resume Building. Interning is a resume builder. Self explanatory! Those new skills can be added. It can also increase the length of your skills. For example, if you completed one 6-month internship already and you take another 6-month internship. You now have one year of experience.
5. Networking! I’ll be honest and say I did not realize the value of networking when I was in school. I was in a few organizations and I stuck with them. Interning allowed me to meet different people and make connections.

Spring internship season is around the corner. If you’re interested in completing an internship, start searching and putting in applications now! Who knows….you may even be able to land your dream job after interning.