Before even starting my semester, I was stressed with the prospect of securing a summer internship. Among my peers, this seems to be commonplace, especially the summer before entering senior year. With today’s standards and competition among students, an internship seems to promise a glowing résumé and a greater chance at receiving future job offers or graduate school acceptances.
However, according to a 2013 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers and the New York Times, only 37 percent of students who work an unpaid internship will receive at least one job offer. Despite this, while sending out dozens of applications, I struggled to come to terms with the fact that I might be forced to consider working without pay, because it would “look good” on my résumé. With such steep competition, accepting an offer to complete free labor is often done with the hope that it will benefit college students in the long run, but with a relatively low rate of job offers coming from unpaid internships, the question is raised: is working for free worth it?
The reality of summer internships is often bleak; not everyone will get one, and those who do may only receive offers due to a connection they have, such as a friend of a parent or a relative who knows someone working in the field. With online applications being easier to complete than ever, résumés and cover letters can be sent out quickly, increasing the size of the applicant pool, thus increasing the competition. Those without a prior connection into a company can be easily overlooked. It seems like the qualification of an applicant comes second, and having a connection comes first.
If an internship program offers insight into your field of study, opportunity for learning and growth and competitive pay, this is a no-brainer. In an ideal world, this is what all internship programs would offer, but not all programs can offer this much. While hoping to gain job experience, many students fall into unstructured internship positions. No one wants to say it, but many times, interns will be picking up the extra work that no other employee wants to do and completing mundane tasks daily. On top of this, they often will not be paid.
While having an internship may “look good” on paper, not having one may just be the best résumé booster to receive. Learning skills relevant to a future career is important, but there are lessons which cannot be taught in the office, and I believe that that working a summer job can be just as credible and often more rewarding as an unpaid internship. For example, being a camp counselor requires skills such as patience, leadership and problem solving. Waitressing teaches how to interact with customers, efficiency and responsibility. Anyone can staple together papers and make copies. Anyone can fetch coffee and can work for free. However, only a dedicated and insightful person can realize that the lessons and experience that they will earn in a summer job have the potential to be far more valuable than choosing to accept an internship which will provide no experience or opportunity.
Furthermore, making the conscious choice to work as anything besides an intern demonstrates resilience and the ability to go against the grain. With the exceeding amount of pressure to get an internship, having an unconventional summer experience could work in one’s favor. Instead of speaking in an interview about typical intern work, a summer job could provide memorable experiences that could make you stand out from another job applicant. At the end of the day, pursuing a passion is just as esteemed as wanting to gain job experience, and should not be overlooked.
Hannah Rosenfield is a junior majoring in English.