It’s a question every career oriented professional asks when entering the workforce. And it’s a question every employer needs to have an answer for: How do you get a job that requires experience when you don’t have any experience?
The answer? Realize you may not get the job you want, so go out and get some experience. This little nugget of reality is reason number one you better not skip that college internship.
According to a recent survey, business students who reported having business-related internships were much more likely to get at least one solid job offer upon graduation. Sometimes sooner.
More than 61 percent of those who had done the internship had a job offer in hand by winter of their senior year. Compare that to 28 percent of the group without one. That means doing that internship more than doubles your chances of landing a gig after graduation. And before you think, “yeah, but, for what jobs,” this percentage stayed fairly even across many different industries.
Banking had the highest rate of job offers at 70 percent followed by consulting, technology and retail.
One of the reasons for the internship benefit is obvious. Sure, that college internship gives you the requisite experience so many businesses are looking for in a new hire, but it is much more valuable for a very different reason.
Doing that internship creates relationships where you would not otherwise have them. No matter what field you want to enter (unless it’s academics) you will meet more people in that field while on the job. Relationships are valuable currency in business. They help you get hired, help you move up and help you strike deals you might not otherwise be able to land.
Even if you plan to go out on your own, that internship can still offer you priceless experience and insight into the industry. The real dynamics and logistics. Who the main players are at every level of the industry. Answers to questions you hadn’t even planned on asking. Keep that in mind if you are considering skipping the internship. You might never learn what you should have known.
