Gaining Real-World Experience in College

As the job market becomes more competitive, employers are looking for much more than a strong academic background from their potential applicants. While good grades are certainly important, gaining real world experience has become the key to obtaining a full-time job upon graduation. Internships provide a valuable opportunity for college students to build experience outside of the classroom, and make themselves more competitive upon entering the job market.

 

Why Get an Internship?

• Students with a paid internship received nearly 50 percent more job offers than those who had either an unpaid internship or none at all.
• Internships improve professionalism, teamwork, communication, and critical-thinking/problem-solving skills. Opportunities to develop skills and friendly co-workers have been cited as the most important attributes of a position.
• 70% of employers make a full-time job offer to interns, to which 80% of students have accepted said offers.
• Internships boost potential networking opportunities.

 

Source: 2019 NACE Report https://career.fsu.edu/sites/g/files/upcbnu746/files/2019-nace-internship-and-co-op-survey-executive-summary.pd