Applying classroom learning to the real world is one of the main goals of a good internship experience. In her “Internship in Business” class, Professor Arlene DeWitt from Assumption College shares valuable tips she received from her juniors and seniors taking the class.
When asked, Professor DeWitt’s students cited the following benefits to participating in an internship:
- Solidifies career direction.
- Helps students learn more about what they want and don’t want to do as a career.
- Provides an opportunity to apply classroom lessons to real world experience.
- Offers great opportunities to network.
- May result in a job offer.
- Provides varied experiences by introducing multiple aspects of a business/organization.
Professor DeWitt’s class offered these tips for students interested in doing an internship:
- Earn more responsibility to gain respect.
- Be self motivated – get the job done.
- Be organized.
- Take initiative/be proactive.
- Stay focused.
- Identify the value you personally bring to an organization.
- Don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves and try something different.
By doing an internship in conjunction with their business class, Professor DeWitt’s students learned how to:
- Apply organizational behavior and managerial concepts learned in the classroom to the real world.
- Explore career interests.
- Evaluate and reevaluate their career goals.
One of the most important purposes of doing an internship is to get the relevant experience employers require. The juniors and seniors in Professor DeWitt’s classroom identified what stood out as some of the most important things students need to consider and do during their internship experience.
