It is no surprise to college students that internships are a critical and almost essential part of getting that first job after graduation. I reached out to three students who successfully completed internships to find out what lessons they learned, whether they enjoyed their internships and asked them for advise for students who plan to complete internships. Wondering what they had to say? You might be surprised at what they said!

  V.O., a sophomore at Rutgers University majoring in computer science, had a non-paid summer internship in 2019 at a start-up tech company. He was charged with marketing efforts using social media platforms as well as in-person events, contests and giveaways. He conducted outreach to engage the organization’s target audience to use their scholarship service. His big take- away from his experience is that more than anything, “building relationships and networking is critical.” “You get your job done by having positive relationships with others.” This is a lesson he continues to use in his academics and in extracurricular activities.

  R.W. is an electrical engineering sophomore at Harvard who is currently completing an internship as a Junior Computer Engineer. He credits getting this plum internship to having a professionally written resume by Chrystal Nova and networking. In the corporate world, to be successful it is critical to have excellent communication skills. “Engineers solve problems but as a junior engineer, I needed to first understand the problem, ask critical questions and then adhere to the deadline.” He is grateful to have the hands-on experience and learn more about how the corporate world works. R.W. reported that he also had a supportive boss who served as a mentor. He advises students who are in internships to ”take a genuine interest in all the people you meet and build relationships. This is key to your success.”

  Our next words of advice come from J.P. a math and computer science major from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) who graduated in 2018. J.P’s advice is a little different because he did not intern during his college years. Here’s what J.P. had to say: “I did not have a corporate internship during my college years. This made my search more challenging. Internships are very important in today’s marketplace.” During his job search, he admits he was not as comfortable with interviewing. If he had had an internship perhaps he would have been more familiar with the interviewing process. In retrospect he wishes that he had been more proactive about getting an internship.

  J.P. also recommends the co-op experience, which is structured practical work experience that usually provides academic credits and will typically provide paid work for a semester or more. This would have given him an inside look into the corporate world and he feels he would have been more familiar and thus more comfortable with the interview process.

  Finally, the students all agree soft skills such as communication skills and relationship building are key to your success in the work world and internships are a great opportunity to hone those skills.