Internship is a good way to explore your future career. Moreover, when it comes to your future university application, you can include your internship experience in your resume. This article will provide pointers to help you find an internship. Generally speaking, the benefits of internships are:
- Gain work experience and skills in a working environment
Completing an internship related to your future ideal job can help you gain relevant work experience and have the opportunity to apply for a formal job. Moreover, you can develop some work-related soft skills, such as communication, coordination, and how to adapt to a new environment.
- Understand different professions
Find an internship to help you understand different professions. Internships are a less risky way to learn about different careers because you have the opportunity to observe every aspect of a profession. Through internships, you may find that your dream job may not be for you, or that particular work which you have no interest in at first turns out to be very compatible with your expertise. Rather than exploring your interests after graduation or only after you’ve worked for a few years, it may be better to explore them in your high school years.
Completing an internship can demonstrate that you are a person who works hard and is willing to learn new things. Also, learning to balance internship and extracurricular tasks in school at the same time can develop time management skills, and further prove that you are a mature and committed person.
Finding an internship is not easy for everyone, especially for high school students. Especially since most of the internships are directed at college students. Here, we look at ways to find internships:
- Consider your interests and passions before you find an internship
High school students can start to consider their interests and future career considerations from the interests of subjects and extracurricular activities. For example, if you like to do scientific work, you can try occupations relating to environmental protection agencies. If you have the flair for creativity you can choose to work in marketing or product design.
If you have no idea where to begin, you can also consider doing some online personality tests. If you are still unsure where your interests lie, it doesn’t matter at all. Still, try to make a list of what you are passionate about, the brands you love or the stores you visit often. - Your school
Some high schools may already have programs that help you to find an internship, or they know where past students had done their internships. Also, your high school may have resources such as alumni or sponsors, so you can check with your school counselors for any opportunities. - Interpersonal relationship
It is possible that your acquaintance network is bigger than you think. For example, your former teacher, your parents’ friend, your sports coach, or any one you know who are already working in the field you are interested in. Try to talk to them about your goals. Tell them that you want to find an internship and discuss with someone who is willing to guide you. You may have an unexpected surprise. - Web searchÂ
If you still can’t find an internship through personal or professional relationships, you may want to consider other ways. There is a source that is ignored by many students which is a general job search website. Some websites, such as LinkedIn, may provide searches specifically for high school students’ internships, including part-time internships during the school year or full-time internships during the summer vacation. And, some universities now offer high school students the opportunity to do research projects together.
