Internships on the Rise or Fall
Is the job market crazy right now? Absolutely. So much so that organizations are struggling to find appropriate candidates for one of the basics that got me started in my career: internships.
I remember during my undergrad and my immediately following law school/MBA work, I had internships almost every semester and during the summer. I was a constant internship employee. Most paid a little bit in terms of salary. None paid very much. But all provided an immense experience in preparing me for my professional career. Today, most undergraduate degrees have some type of internship requirement.
I found the Forbes article talking about the high level of competition for internships very interesting (Getting An Internship Is More Competitive Than Ever—But The Experience Has ‘Really Eroded’). Just recently, I tried to find an intern for my own business. This internship was for a very specific project and was fully paid. I had two applicants. I interviewed one and was told soon she was taking a different opportunity. In the end, I just did the work myself.
I had to read the article several times because much of what it articulates wasn't my experience. And then I honed in on something. Buried in the middle of a paragraph was the term “meets their standards.” It was in reference that more than half of all of those searching for an internship didn't think the internships offered would “meet their standards.” But there was no further conversation in the article about what that meant.
I remember my early internships were nothing of great glory. Lots of small tasks that some might call grunt work. Even during law school during an internship with the athletic foundation at the university, I was dropping off flyers and hanging banners. Not very glorious.
Has the expectation of actual duties for internships changed? Have the desires of interns wanting experience changed as well?
I'm not sure. Internships to me were always about getting your foot in the door. Proving yourself. Showing up and doing good work, no matter what they asked. It was also a chance to sit through meetings and through osmosis learn about the real working world. Maybe that's not what's expected today. I'm not sure. It might even have been the pandemic that changed the nature of internships because many disappeared.
Whatever the reason, I'm a believer in them. Not to become the CEO after a few months of being an intern but as a great experience to enter the work world.
