How do I Choose The Right Internship?

Many college students that we speak to are not sure about what industry they want to work in and we understand them. The people behind Absolute, have been interns in the past as well and dealt with the same challenges and dilemmas as today’s students. So, what’s the best way to find out what type of internship you should do and at the same time know it will benefit your future career?

Here’s 3 tips on what to think about when choosing the right internship:

1. Most interesting subject at school.
What’s the most interesting subject that you study at school? Marketing? Accounting? Organization Theory? International Business? Business Law? Advertisement? Media Communication? Really give it a thought and brainstorm what you would you love to work in. If you know that one of your friend’s parents are in a certain business, you should try to ask what they love most about their jobs and what their first job/internship was like. That will give you some ideas about the industry.

2. You have plans on starting your company so you’re not sure at all if an internship is the right match for you.
There are thousands of successful entrepreneurs that are in need of extra hands. Network, search online and ask friends, even your parents. Almost anyone know, someone who has his own company. Propose that you would like to gain some work experience by interning in his/her company during a certain period. Successful people loves to share, and hosting you as an intern will give you a great opportunity to see how a business is operated in practice.

3. Fortune 500 company or a small company.
Interning in large corporation is a great added-value on a resume. However, the extent of knowledge and training you will be given will not be comparable with what you can learn in a small company with only 3-5 employees. You are probably thinking why? Let us explain why.

As an intern in a large corporation, assignments and tasks are strictly divided among employees. Each employee has certain tasks to complete whereas in a small firm, there are seldom any titles of the employees. Everybody is part of the operations, which means that as an intern you will be exposed to marketing, business development, negotiation, accounting, human resources and finance planning. You will learn all parts of a business, whether you want it or not which will be extremely useful for your future career.