Associate of Communications, Ari Neugeboren shares three essential factors to consider when interviewing and choosing a summer internship.
There are many factors to consider when interviewing and ultimately choosing a summer internship that is the best fit for your interests and skill set. As a former Signal Group intern, I believe these three factors are important to consider when looking for the best opportunity to improve your future job search and career path.
Does your internship destination have a history of hiring its interns?
Internships are crucial because they broaden your resume and allow for more recruiters and interviewers to notice your resume in the future. That said, a key goal of an internship should be to be hired by your internship workplace as a full-time employee in the future. Thus, it’s important to check if your firm, company, or office has a history of hiring former interns as full-time employees – and what these former interns say about the internship program you’re pursing.
Is your internship paid?
Only in the rarest of circumstances is it prudent to accept an internship without pay. Considering housing, food, and transportation costs typically associated with a summer internship in Washington, D.C., an unpaid internship can be an unnecessary burden on your financial situation, both current and future. Unless the internship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that could definitively yield a full-time job in the future, it’s best to mainly search for internships with at least some form of pay.
Is your internship in an area where you have at least a mild interest?
One of the best parts of internships is they allow you to refine your interests and find out what you like to do – but also what you don’t like to do. For example, my first internship was in sports media, and though it was a great opportunity, it simply wasn’t my niche career field. This allowed me to refine my internship interests moving forward and better understand what I wanted to pursue professionally.
Reach out to Ari to at aneugeboren@signaldc.com to discuss Signal’s internship program. Signal is currently accepting resumes for its summer intern class.