Transition Career Preparation Center
Internships
No Way Out
Internships, And Why We Need Them
By Jeffery Guillermo
I’m just tryin’ to stay above water you know. Just stay busy, stay workin.’ Puff told me like, the key to this joint, the key to staying on top of things is treat everything like it’s your first project, know what I’m saying? Like it’s your first day, like back when you was an intern. Like, that’s how you try to treat things like, just stay hungry.
– The Notorious B.I.G.
My internship at Transition! Hawaii has thus far been a great learning experience. I have been an intern for almost two months, and can wholeheartedly say that I enjoy the work I do, my relationships with my coworkers and the learning processes that I undergo every time I step into the office.
Internships are vital for students in gaining work experience and building a résumé. They are also opportunities for you to make valuable networking connections in the industry you are most interested in. Employers expect to see a student’s work experience on his/her résumé, and countless students have landed jobs at places they’ve interned. Internships can be a win-win situation for both employers and students. Students are able to find connections between classroom learning and the real world, and employers get some extra help while scouting for potential employees.
Take, for example, my first week at Transition! Hawaii. I had a conversation with Brenda, the director of development of the publication. She told me that one of the goals she had was to use my youthful knowledge in order to capture the minds of their readers. One of the publication’s greatest challenges is being both hip and educational. Their main topics, school and career goals, are dry by nature. If the content does not attract its audience effectively, they will lose its attention. A notable problem is that the youngest person on the editorial staff is almost 30, and that is a large generation gap to teenagers, a.k.a. you, the reader. Fortunately, the staff has a young, “hip” intern for the summer. I’m here for them to pick my brain for ideas and input.
One of my contributions was to explain how the minds of many teenagers today have been affected by MTV-style programming. As I’ve learned in my New York University cinema studies classes, the quick cutting and whipsaw camera work has shortened the attention span of teenagers. Even I, an aspiring 21-year-old young professional, can hardly watch a basketball game without checking my cell phone every nine minutes. Yet, the publication is on the right track. By featuring shorter profiles, moving to the web, and offering internships to people like me, Transition! Hawaii is moving toward the future.
Today, most college professors stress the importance of internships to their students simply because they know the value of work experience. The vast majority of colleges offer academic credit for internships, and some college majors even require students to get internships in order to complete educational requirements.
As a journalism major, I am constantly working on my writing and storytelling skills. After all, why publish anything if it doesn’t paint an accurate picture? One of my first editorial assignments here was to write a Career Pathway article, one that shines a spotlight on a particular person and their occupation. So, I headed out to interview a social worker at the Department of Human Services. This was a refreshing experience, as conducting interviews is a skill, and I had been out of practice for more than five months.
It was a great interview, but I needed more details. So, I headed to the state library, and used a microfilm machine for the first time to search through archived newspapers. I found an article from 1989 that gave me the background information I was looking for. The lesson reinforced by covering this story is simple: When in the act of journalism, do not start by slamming a keyboard. After all, a mechanic doesn’t start to repair an automobile by immediately reaching for a monkey wrench—even though it may be his most-used tool.
Check out my Health Services Pathway; I hope you find it interesting and perhaps inspiring.
Remember my epigraph. In 1990, Puff Daddy, a.k.a. Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, started his career as an intern with Uptown Records in New York City. Combs used his dedication, hard work and business acumen to become vice-president of promotions by 1991. In that position, he played an integral role in discovering Jodeci and Mary J. Blige. When he left the label due to creative differences, he formed Bad Boy Records, which would gross nine digits by the end of the millennium.
Get an internship as soon as possible. The last thing you want to do is wait until your last semester before you start to look for one. You have to start somewhere, so why not as an intern?
- Before seeking out an internship, consult your academic department’s guidance counselor, as many schools have different rules and requirements. Then, prepare a cover letter and résumé telling your potential employer about your skills and work experience.
- When you find an internship that is right for you, be sure to set goals for yourself. Establishing internship goals will help you hone a specific skill, and will allow you to create learning outcomes that can be measured.
For more info on employment, visit the Transition Career Preparation Center at www.transitionhawaii.com/employment.