How to create a college internship where students actually learn − and don't want to quit
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Monday, September 25, 2023
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When Angelica landed a prestigious internship with a major corporation just outside of Houston, she was ecstatic about the opportunity to launch her career in finance.
Key Points:
- When Angelica landed a prestigious internship with a major corporation just outside of Houston, she was ecstatic about the opportunity to launch her career in finance.
- Such optimism was warranted, as research shows that students with internships are almost twice as likely to graduate college, have a 12.6% higher likelihood of being invited to job interviews, and earn 6% higher wages than noninterns once they graduate.
- But even with a decent paycheck and scholarships to cover her rent, Angelica considered leaving the internship within weeks.
- In fact, research shows that internships can reinforce gender inequalities in the workplace, create unrealistic expectations for career advancement and even exploit student labor.
Common internship pitfalls
- Unfortunately, the educational aspect of internships frequently gets overshadowed, with interns assigned mundane or repetitive tasks unrelated to their academic or professional interests.
- This can hinder their career development, for example by diminishing their motivation to pursue a career in that field.
- Based on our research, we offer four strategies for designing effective and welcoming internships for college students.
1. Set clear learning goals
- In order to ensure interns acquire new knowledge and skills, supervisors can establish both long-term and short-term learning goals.
- This is required in countries like France, where internships with companies are fully included in college curricula, but not in the U.S.. Learning goals can include specific tasks the intern will be expected to perform, technical knowledge they will gain and transferable skills like communication or teamwork that they should develop through the internship.
- Documenting these goals using forms like this one from the University of Minnesota can help students discern where to concentrate and hone their skills during the internship.
2. Structure assignments from easy to hard
- In our own study, we found that interns also benefit from starting their jobs with easier tasks and gradually transitioning to tasks that require less oversight.
- Our research also shows that interns benefit from assignments that have clear expectations and deadlines and pose minimal consequences if performed incorrectly.
3. Keep communication open
- Research confirms the importance of clear, regular and open lines of communication between interns and their supervisors.
- Open communication can be especially important for interns who are new to a job, company or city.
4. Connect interns with appropriate mentors
- Employees in general benefit professionally and psychologically from having workplace mentors with similar backgrounds and identities to their own.
- Yet, workers from marginalized groups – especially women – often have a harder time finding supportive and relatable mentors.
- However, simply pairing mentors and interns based on characteristics like race or gender may not be the best approach.