The Value of Internships

Which comes first, the job or the experience? If you ask an employer, the answer would be experience but if you ask a job seeker, the answer would be the job. What is my solution to this conundrum? An internship.

Last year I was in the “no man’s land” of needing a job but the job needing experience. That was when I realized that if I was ever going to get a job I would need to get experience through an internship. So, I chose to intern at the branding and website design company that I currently work at, O3 World. I interned for four months and am now their newest programmer, Doug.

But aside from filling out a resume, what sort of value does an internship truly have to offer? Depending on the company, that value could come in many forms. Some companies even offer sweet perks for their interns:

• Last year Microsoft gave all of their interns (among a few other perks) a free Xbox 360.
• If you’re lucky enough to intern for this Seattle law firm, you even get your own private office.
• The Kansas City, MO based marketing agency, Barkley, gives their interns access to a rooftop hangout, complete with a pool, ping-pong tables, and more.

While perks like these are nice, I believe the biggest value you can get from an internship is having the opportunity to make personal connections with people who are experts in their field and actually have the power to help you become employed.

Gaining hands on experience has also been very valuable to me and is something everyone should look for and require from an internship. I can proudly say that I have never once been asked to fetch coffee for anyone at O3 World… (although with the recent demise of our coffee maker, that might change). Instead I spent time programming on large projects and worked with code written by others. I was also given time to work on my own project, a blog platform.

Despite the fact that I didn’t get an Xbox or a private office, being an intern at O3 World was an absolute pleasure. My internship lasted about 4 months, but the time really flew by. While interning, I really felt like I was just another member of the team, and was treated that way. It felt great to know that I was—and am—contributing in some meaningful way. But, not all internships are created equal… so if you have a success story (or a horror story) of your own to share, I’d love to hear it!